Pasco baseball players Blaine Duncan, Matt Plourde headed to Barry, Daytona State respectively

Posted May 21, 2013 by Mike Camunas

Updated May 21, 2013 at 08:40 PM

Pasco senior ace Blaine Duncan is taking his talents to South Beach after verbally committing to Barry University, Pirates baseball coach Pat Fortunato told the Tampa Tribune via text Tuesday evening.

Fortunato added senior catcher Matt Plourde has signed to play for Daytona State.

Duncan, a six-foot southpaw, was one of the county’s top pitchers this season, going 7-1 with a 1.09 ERA and 100 strikeouts that got him named third-team Sunshine Athletic Conference.

Plourde drove in 22 RBI with a .256 batting average, but was key by catching all 29 games in full for the Pirates

Duncan and Plourde also helped lead Pasco (20-9) to a Class 5A-District 8 championship over rival Wesley Chapel, but were knocked out of the region quarterfinals by Eustis.

Barry University is Division II college located in Miami Shores and the Buccaneers went 31-19 this season, while Daytona State is a junior college in Daytona Beach and the Falcons finished the season receiving six votes in the NJCAA baseball poll.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunas.

Bishop McLaughlin sophomore OH Alyssa Mathis commits to San Diego State

Posted May 16, 2013 by Mike Camunas

Updated May 16, 2013 at 10:19 AM

In a rare, but calculated move, Bishop McLaughlin Catholic High volleyball’s Alyssa Mathis has verbally committed to San Diego State, Hurricanes coach Doug Chinchar said.

“It’s a big deal — she’s only a sophomore,” Chinchar said. “She had a lot of interest, but she wanted to be a doctor and go through their program. We told a lot of other program’s not to bother. But this is big time. She’ll be playing some big-time programs after playing for a volleyball program in the middle of nowhere.”

Mathis, a six-foot outside hitter, also had a Wake Forest offer and interest from Tennessee. Mathis was named to the second team of the Tribune All-Pasco County volleyball team after averaging 5.2 kills per game and had 66 blocks in 2012.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunas.

Mitchell P/INF Chris McCormick commits to PHCC

Posted May 15, 2013 by Mike Camunas

Updated May 15, 2013 at 01:44 PM

Mitchell senior pitcher and infielder Chris McCormick has committed to Pasco-Hernando Community College, Mustangs coach Scot Wilcox said.

McCormick was the Mustangs No. 2 pitcher, compiling a 6-2 record with a 2.23 ERA and 71 Ks. McCormick, along with FSU commit Cobi Johnson, helped lead Mitchell (24-6) to the program’s first region final and even threw a complete-game vs. Land O’Lakes to win the Class 6A-District 10 championship.

McCormick was also great at the plate, batting .307 with 27 hits, 13 RBI, nine doubles and a homer.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunas.

Three Hudson girls soccer players, including first the Division I scholarship, to sign Friday

Posted May 15, 2013 by Mike Camunas

Updated May 15, 2013 at 01:29 PM

Three Hudson High girls soccer players — Haley Walker, Brooke McKillen and Sarah Staley — will sign to play in college during a ceremony at the school Friday at noon, Cobras coach Stephen Jones said in an e-mail.

“These three girls have had a fantastic career at Hudson High School, including one District Championship, one District Runner-up and one Regional Final appearance,” Jones said in the e-mail. “They were three of our four captains this season (with junior Dominique Cirnigliaro) leading our young team to a 16-5-2 record.”

Walker and McKillen will sign with Polk State College, while Staley will become the first Hudson girls soccer player to receive a full scholarship at a Division I college by signing with Youngstown State University. Staley is also the Class of 2013 valedictorian.

For the past four seasons, the Hudson girls soccer team has had players continue their careers at the collegiate level. A total of eight players have moved on, including Alicia Schuering, who is now a captain at Saint Leo University.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunas.

Pasco rising sophomore WR/DB Nate Craig pulls in Florida, FSU offers

Posted May 14, 2013 by Mike Camunas

Updated May 14, 2013 at 01:27 PM

Though Pasco’s Nate Craig already has numerous offers, the rising sophomore star pulled in his first in-state offer Tuesday morning.

Pirates coach Tom McHugh tweeted that Craig received a phone call from Florida Gators head coach Will Muschamp, who then proceeded to give the 6-foot-3, 200-pound WR/DB his ninth Division I offer. Less than two hours later, Craig said via his Facebook page that Florida State gave him his 10th offer.

Craig, who had 18 catches for 299 yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman in 2012, already had three SEC offers: Tennessee, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt, but also already had five more offers: Texas Tech, UMass, Ohio State, Clemson and Rutgers.

Craig also had four interceptions and five pat downs playing safety last season, while there should be more offers for the rising recruit before Pasco travels to Land O’ Lakes for its Spring Game on May 23 at 7 p.m.

Correspondent Mike Camunas can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or follow him on Twitter @MikeCamunas.