TAMPA — King senior right-hander Brett Morales admits that it sometimes takes him an inning or two to get comfortable on the mound. Once Morales locks in, however, he’s usually unshakable. On Thursday, even a 30-minute lightning delay couldn’t break Morales’ concentration. The Florida signee threw a three-hitter in King’s ...
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Fri. May 03, 2013 at 12:37 a.m. | Bryan Burns
TAMPA — After only a handful of pitches, it was clear Brandon Caples did not — and would not — have his best stuff. The King senior, who came into the game with an 8-0 record and 1.25 ERA, was obviously not his usual self in the District 6A-11 championship ...
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Fri. April 26, 2013 at 12:15 a.m. | Joel Anderson
VALRICO — Before the district tournament started Monday, Wharton coach Scott Hoffman noticed a funny little quirk about the bracket. It looked awfully familiar. The Wildcats were poised to face the same teams they had last year, when they won the District 8A-7 championship and made it to the region ...
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Tue. April 23, 2013 at 11:07 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Baseball super seven Records through Thursday 1. Jesuit (22-2): No longer the nation’s top-ranked team, Jesuit will have to settle for being No. 1 in the county following its first losses of the season in the final week of the regular season. 2. King (19-3): Surrendered more than two runs ...
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Fri. April 19, 2013 at 3:58 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Near the end, as the muscles in his legs finally clenched in agony and the cramps swept over him, King freshman Vignesh Bhethanabotla called out for a trainer. Bhethanabotla, the Lions’ No. 3 player, was on the verge of defeat in his second-round team singles match Monday. And in the ...
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Mon. April 15, 2013 at 11:07 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TAMPA — There were about a half-dozen slices of white birthday cake set atop the park bench. A celebratory sushi dinner awaited the girls when their intra-squad doubles match was over. Everyone was all smiles, seemingly just another day at the park for the defending Class 4A state champions. “It’s ...
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Thu. April 11, 2013 at 9:55 p.m. | Joel Anderson
Baseball super seven Records through Wednesday 1. Jesuit (21-0): One of the state’s toughest stretches awaits Tigers near the end of the regular season, including Seminole (15-6), Sarasota (16-5) and nationally-ranked Venice (18-2). 2. Steinbrenner (18-1): Hard not to look ahead to the Warriors’ regular-season finale against Jefferson on Thursday. ...
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Thu. April 11, 2013 at 4:22 p.m. | Joel Anderson
King baseball coach Jim Macaluso has been suspended three weeks by the Florida High School Athletic Association following his ejection from a game Saturday. Macaluso was removed from the game against Bloomingdale after confronting an official about a play at second base in the third inning, according to an officials’ ...
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Wed. April 10, 2013 at 12:45 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TEMPLE TERRACE — The challenge for the King boys wasn’t so much to defeat region semifinal opponent Winter Haven on Tuesday. After a couple of games on the Lightfoot Recreation Center hard courts, the Lions were clearly playing at a higher level. The focus for King then became: who can ...
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Tue. April 09, 2013 at 9:45 p.m. | Bryan Burns
DOVER — King and Strawberry Crest played their regular-season district finale Friday night, with the Lions playing for a 10-game sweep of 6A-11 and the Chargers hoping to hang onto their No. 2 seed. Both teams sent their No. 2 pitchers to the mound, King’s Brandon Caples and Strawberry Crest’s ...
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Fri. April 05, 2013 at 10:32 p.m. | Andy Warrener
Baseball super seven Records through Wednesday 1. Jesuit (18-0): Won first two games of the Easter Tournament by a combined score of 12-1, proving the Tigers can dominate out-of-state opponents, too. 2. Steinbrenner (15-1): Cole Gordon leads the county with six homers, including the game winner in a big district ...
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Thu. April 04, 2013 at 12:16 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TAMPA — King’s boys and girls teams each won six of seven events Tuesday to capture both titles at the 3A-9 district tournament for the second year in a row in anticlimactic fashion. Kiril Kirkov was victorious 6-0, 6-2 over Chamberlain’s Harrison Fisher at boys No. 1 singles to earn ...
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Tue. April 02, 2013 at 8:51 p.m. | Bryan Burns
Baseball super seven Records through Thursday 1. Jesuit (16-0): Tigers are cruising into their Jesuit Baseball Easter Tournament next week, defeating opponents by an average of 12-1. 2. Steinbrenner (14-1): Remains undefeated in District 7A-9, notching wins over Wiregrass Ranch and Gaither this week. 3. Durant (13-4): Right-hander Tyler Danish ...
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Fri. March 29, 2013 at 6:21 p.m. | Joel Anderson
TAMPA — The first voice she hears belongs to her first cousin. The starter’s pistol fires, King High School sprinter Carrol Hardy blasts off, and Peter Morohundiya is triggered. His robust baritone bellow always beats her to the finish line. “I push and I jog with her last little 10 ...
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Mon. March 25, 2013 at 4:43 p.m. | Joey Knight
Baseball super seven 1. Jesuit (12-0): The nation’s No. 1 team according to MaxPreps.com and PerfectGame.org, the Tigers have won all 12 of their games by a combined score of 131-12. 2. Steinbrenner (11-1): After their first loss of the season, to Strawberry Crest in the Saladino Tournament, the Warriors ...
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Thu. March 21, 2013 at 2:32 p.m. | Joel Anderson