Behind a dominant performance on the mound from senior Jez Hamrick and timely hitting in the middle innings, the Apopka Blue Darters rolled to a 4–1 victory over the Osceola Kowboys Wednesday night in their home opener. 

Hamrick, who is signed to play at the college level, set the tone on the mound and never let Osceola settle in. The right-hander worked deep into the game, striking out nine batters across 6.1 innings while allowing just four hits. His command kept the Kowboys off balance and gave Apopka’s offense time to work. 

“Jez is a workhorse for us, and he’ll be one of our main guys this year,” said new head coach Scott Garland, who notched his first win since taking over the program. “It’s just up from here with him.” 

The Blue Darters broke through in the bottom of the second inning. Senior Camron Pennock reached on an error and eventually came around to score when junior Collin Van Fleet doubled to drive him in, giving Apopka a 1–0 lead. Apopka left two runners in scoring position as Osceola escaped further damage. 

Apopka extended its lead in the third when senior Ty Livingston launched a solo home run to center field, a no-doubt blast that energized the home crowd and pushed the advantage to 2–0. 

From there, the game settled into a pitcher’s duel, with Hamrick continuing to rack up strikeouts and the Blue Darter defense making key plays behind him, including a crisp 6-4-3 double play to halt a potential Osceola rally in the top of the sixth. 

Apopka’s offense responded with insurance in the bottom of the frame. Hamrick started it by ripping a hard ground ball that resulted in a throwing error, and pinch runner Jorge Santiago immediately stole second base. Pennock followed with a popup that dropped in front of the right fielder, and Van Fleet worked a walk to load the bases. 

Senior JD Edge delivered for the Darters with two outs, smoking a line drive over the shortstop’s head to score both Santiago and Pennock and double Apopka’s lead to 4-0. 

Three outs away from a shutout, Hamrick retired the first batter of the seventh but was lifted after issuing a walk. Pennock came in and surrendered a stolen base and a hit up the middle, allowing the Kowboys to score. After another walk, Garland summoned Anthony Raymond to put out the fire. 

After a groundout secured the second out of the inning, Raymond issued a walk to load the bases. With two strikes on the following hitter, Raymond forced a high popup to shortstop Nico Posluzney to seal Apopka’s win. 

Edge finished 1-for-2 with two RBIs, while Pennock went 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Livingston added a solo home run, and Van Fleet went 1-for-2 with a double and an RBI.  

“We had timely hitting,” Garland said. “We did the things we’ve been working on.” 

The win marked a bounce-back moment for the Blue Darters, who entered the game still searching for their first victory after opening the season with four losses against elite competition in the Eustis tournament, including against Montverde Academy, Eustis and Lake Minneola twice. 

“They proved that they’re resilient,” Garland said of his team, which returns 11 seniors. “We had four tough games against really good teams, and we just stuck with the plan and continued to do the things we do every day in practice. We knew we were going to come out of it, and sure enough we did.”  

Apopka (1-4) hosts Horizon (4-0) at 7 p.m. Friday night.