The Apopka Blue Darters baseball team got back on track in their final two games of the 2026 Florida High School Spring Invitational, dominating St Cloud 18-9 and Seminole 13-0. 

After struggling to find rhythm at the plate in the first two games Tuesday and Wednesday, the Darters exploded for 31 runs off 30 hits to place them fourth out of 15 teams. They also finished with the second-best run differential at plus-14. 

“The bats came alive the last two games,” coach Scott Garland said. “I’m proud of them for bouncing back, I wish we had that same mentality in the first two games… It’s a learning opportunity.” 

On Friday afternoon at Sperling Sports Complex in DeLand, Apopka needed just four and a half innings to take down the Seminole Seminoles in a neutral site game. 

Anthony Raymond on the mound for the Darters, kept Seminole hitless and started his outing with three straight flyouts.  

In the bottom of the first, Aiden Rieli and Ty Livingston were both walked on four pitches, then Tyler Spaid was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A balk by the pitcher brought Rieli home, and a single to left field from Camron Pennock scored Livingston. Nico Posluszny capped the inning with a line drive to center that scored both Spaid and Pennock and extended the lead to 4-0. 

In the second, catcher Collin Van Fleet gunned down a Seminole runner trying to steal. Raymond delivered a strikeout to end the frame and keep the shutout in tact. 

The next set of Apopka runs came in the third inning, when Van Fleet ripped a line drive to left and Spaid smoked a double in the left field gap. Jez Hamrick followed with an RBI groundout.  

With Spaid on third, Pennock smoked a ball over the center fielder’s head for an RBI triple, and Posluszny scored him on a groundout, making the score 7-0. 

The Blue Darters put the mercy rule in effect with a six-run fourth inning. After a Livingston single and two walks loaded the bases, Spaid got hit by a pitch again to score Rieli. Hamrick emptied the bases when he drilled a line drive double past the center fielder to make it 11-0.  

Singles from Pennock and Posluszny scored Hamrick before Seminole got an out in the inning. Pennock scored on a wild pitch for their final run. 

Up 13-0 in the top of the fifth, Raymond whiffed two batters to seal the win. He had four strikeouts in five hitless innings. Pennock went 3-for-3 with two RBIs, while Posluszny and Hamrick each delivered four RBIs. 

On Thursday, the Blue Darters faced the 13-1 St. Cloud Bulldogs and began their momentum at the plate. Every batter delivered an RBI and got on base in the 18-9 victory. 

They started the afternoon strong with a single from Rieli and a triple from Livingston for an immediate score. Van Fleet drove him in with a deep sacrifice flyout. 

A scoreless second inning brought a high scoring third. Hamrick brought home Livingston off a sacrifice fly, Pennock brought pinch runner Tyler Hall home, and Bryce Doss singled to score Spaid. Andy Diaz then scored Pennock on a groundout, and Rieli singled past third to score Posluszny and Doss.  

Down eight runs, Seminole fought back in the bottom half with four runs off three singles, a double and two walks. 

Spaid and Hamrick singled in the fourth, the Pennock walked to load the bases. Posluszny scored two off a single to left field to make it 10-4.  

Anthony Raymond came in to pitch the bottom of the fourth inning and retired all three batters. 

In the fifth, Livingston, Spaid and Hamrick plated four more Darter runs with singles. 

The Bulldogs made things interesting in the bottom fifth, when three walks loaded the bases. Three singles ripped scored five runners before Pennock induced a groundout to end the rally. 

Up 14-9 in the top of the sixth, Apopka tacked on two more runs. Van Fleet doubled to deep center to score Livingston, and Hamrick singled on a hard grounder to left to score pinch runner Tyler Hall. 

After Pennock fired a 1-2-3 inning, walks loaded the bases for Apopka in the top of the seventh. Another walk scored Posluszny, then Van Fleet singled for his third hit and third RBI of the game to cap off the scoring. 

A final 1-2-3 inning from Pennock in the bottom of the seventh ended the game, giving the Blue Darters a huge18-9 win. 

Apopka will next play Tuesday at Olympia, then come back home on Wednesday to face Poinciana at J. Barnes Field.