New Port Richey Patch's Varsity Baseball Preview

Welcome to the New Port Richey Patch varsity baseball preview for , , and .

There are a number of returning players on a few of these teams, which makes each of them legitimate contenders in their district.

Gulf, Mitchell, River Ridge and Ridgewood are all Class 4A teams, but River Ridge is a district 8 team, while the other three are district 7.

Mitchell, River Ridge, and Ridgewood are the strongest teams in New Port Richey, but any four of them can end the season with a district title.

Mitchell was the runner-up in the district last year and has six returning seniors to the line-up this year.

The St. Petersburg Times says that Mitchell Senior Kevin Games is one of the top position prospects for the county because of his quickness in the outfield and his team-leading 32 RBI’s as a junior last year.

River Ridge is also a very strong team with more than six returning players from last year and a pitching staff that’s pretty deep.

 Senior Taylor Rish, and Junior Tommy Peterson are highlighted as River Ridge’s top two starters. Peterson is recognized in the St. Petersburg Times as one of the county’s top pitching prospects.

Coming out of the bullpen and expected to “carry the load,” says Head Coach Jack Homko, are Senior Cody Boland and Junior Cam Hokanson.

Also, look for Peterson to be the team’s leader and causing a lot of trouble for opposing pitching in the batter’s box.

Ridgewood has over six returning players from their varsity team last year, as well, and the team's pitching staff is pretty solid, too.

Head Coach Larry Beets says he has six players that will be contributing to the teams batting line-up this year: junior Robby McCabe, senior Ricky Handschumacher, senior Ryan Mettler, senior Austin Tolle, Bobby Anderson, and junior Drake Hloska.

Of those six, McCabe is considered the St. Pete Times' top position prospects.

Also, Beets has four pitchers who will be throwing the ball for Ridgewood the most:  Tolle, Hloska, senior Mike Rinaldi and senior Kevin Thomas.

Any game that has these teams facing off against each other is going to be extremely competitive and considered rivalry matches to the players and coaches, as each team is fighting for pride in their schools.

Don’t miss any of the action this spring as all four of teams look to improve each game and end the season with one goal in mind: Win a District Title.