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Diamond In The Rough

IN EVERY FACET OF THE GAME, LAKE PLACID’S SOSA SHINED

Kathy Waters/Highlands Today

Lake Placid’s Carlos Sosa did it all for the Green Dragons this season to earn All-Heartland baseball player of the year honors.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: May 30, 2008

LAKE PLACID — His head coach calls him the best player he's had, and an opposing coach says he'd take him if he could cherry-pick any of Highlands County's standout baseball players.

Still, Carlos Sosa said he was surprised on Tuesday when told he'd been named the 2008 Highlands Today All-Heartland Baseball Player of the Year.

"I was still half asleep this morning, and I thought Coach [Dan] Coomes was joking when he told me," Sosa said. "I wasn't expecting this at all, but feel really honored to receive such a distinction."

Sosa's play on the field was also bewildering for many opposing teams, as the Lake Placid senior two-way star showed that he belonged with the best in the Heartland.

"I just tried to improve on my pitching and defense and do what my team needs to win," Sosa said. "That's what I think of when someone asks me what an MVP is — a player that works hard and sacrifices himself for his team.

"You don't have to be a super athlete to be an MVP, but have the heart to overcome the odds against you."

The Green Dragon pitcher/shortstop had an outstanding season at the plate, batting .433 with a .519 on-base percentage, with 13 stolen bases and seven RBI, while going 6 for 11 against rivals Sebring and Avon Park in combined plate appearances.

On the mound, Sosa's record isn't indicative of what he meant to the Green Dragon's success.
Although going 1-6 on the season, the LP senior gave up just 11 earned runs and 19 hits for a 1.70 ERA in 45 1/3 innings.

"I worked very hard on becoming a better pitcher this year," Sosa said. "I felt I hit my spots and got my curve to break to keep hitters off-balance."

The Green Dragon hurler held No. 1 seed Frostproof to just four hits and struck out five in a 2-0 loss in the Class 3A-District 10 semifinal.

"He was the heart and soul of our team this season," Coomes said. "He did everything we asked of him and more. I believe he's the best shortstop in the area, and had the stats to back it up.
"[Sosa] is the most complete player I've had and has all the tools you look for in a ball player."

The one thing that was lacking for Sosa was a chance to beat rivals Sebring and Avon Park.
"I had a shot to finally get a win against [Sebring or Avon Park]," Sosa said. "I have no regrets though. I gave it all I had."

The losses to Avon Park were not overlooked by Avon Park head coach Mort Jackson, who was impressed by Sosa's ability.

"Carlos is one of the better players in the area," Jackson said. "He took so much on his shoulders and did such a great job. He was one of the players I didn't want to see at the plate with the game on the line.
"If I could have one other player on my team, it'd be Carlos."

Against Sebring in April, the LP hurler's curveball gave most of the Blue Streak lineup fits in the Green Dragon Spring Break Classic, as he gave up just three hits and one earned run while striking out seven to put the Green Dragons in a position for the upset, but Lake Placid lost 3-2.

On his final week before graduation, Sosa is looking forward to seeing what the future holds.
"I may go to Puerto Rico to continue my schooling and play baseball there," Sosa said. "Right now, I'm just weighing my options, but somewhere baseball will fit into my plans."

The Team
KYLE JACKSON, SENIOR, AVON PARK Tabbed by Red Devil head coach Mort Jackson as "the best offensive weapon" for AP, Jackson led the team in nearly all offensive categories.
"Kyle kept us in a lot of games with his bat and on the mound," Coach Jackson said. "He played great defense and was just an all-around player for us this season."
Jackson batted .392 with 31 hits, 11 doubles, 22 RBI and a .595 slugging percentage and an on-base percentage of .467 at the plate for the Red Devils, while collecting 23 assists and 137 put-outs with no errors on the defensive side.

ADAM SIMMONS, SENIOR, SEBRING Leading the Blue Streaks in nearly every offensive category, Simmons was also the team's ace on the mound and was seldom rocked when pressure was on in 2008.
"Adam took the mound in almost every big game we had and came through time and time again," said Sebring head coach Hoppy Rewis. "It would be a struggle if he wasn't in our lineup this season."
Simmons, who recently signed to play for South Florida Community College in the fall, went 9-3 with a 1.04 ERA and 74 strike outs in 69 innings pitched, while batting .370 with three home runs and 32 RBI for the regional runner-up Streaks.

LOGAN SMITH, JUNIOR, LAKE PLACID The infield of second baseman Smith and Sosa at shortstop gave the Green Dragons one of best defensive tandems in the region.
The LP junior batted .417 and had a .943 fielding percentage on the season.
"Logan was a great middle-infielder," Coomes said. "He had great range that helped him make the tough plays look easy."

HEATH BARNES, SENIOR, AVON PARK The trouble with Barnes is that you don't know which position he's going to hurt you in — at the plate or on the mound.
The AP senior may have gone just 2-2 pitching for the Red Devils this season, but look beyond the numbers and you'll see Barnes' value: He threw a no-hitter against Booker in their first meeting and gave up just one hit in their second.
"He was our most consistent pitcher we had this season," Jackson said. "You always knew you were going to get a solid outing from Heath no matter who he was facing."
Barnes batted .333 with five doubles and 19 RBI and drew a team-high 16 walks, while posting a .440 slugging percentage.

ZACH HECKMAN, JUNIOR, LAKE PLACID With a .451 on-base percentage, Heckman had the prowess at the plate to make things happen.
"Zach's job was to get on base and he did that efficiently this season," Coomes said. "He was one of the catalysts during our three-game winning streak at the end of the season."
Heckman, who played left field for the Green Dragons, finished the season with a .333 average and will be one of the top offensive weapons for Lake Placid next season.

TONY VAZQUEZ, SENIOR, SEBRING A combination of power and speed helped Vazquez set himself apart this season.
The senior first baseman batted .314 with three homers and six doubles to go along with 27 RBI and was walked a team-leading 25 times in 86 at-bats this season.
"Tony really grew as a player in his own right," Rewis said. "I thought he posted some really good numbers considering he was batting in the clean-up spot and not getting very many good pitches to hit. His batting average would've been higher but we asked him to swing at pitches he normally wouldn't swing at to generate some offense on occasions."
Vazquez has signed to play for Polk Community College in the fall.

ADAM DELGADO, SENIOR, LAKE PLACID Delgado gave Coomes and the Green Dragons another quality arm to their rotation and the LP senior made the most of his opportunity.
Delgado posted a 3.07 ERA and pitched in his fair share of big games, giving LP a one-two punch on the mound.
"Adam had an outstanding season for us," Coomes said. "Adam and Carlos gave us a nice combo on the mound."

LOGAN HUNTER, SENIOR, AVON PARK The senior catcher made his value to the Red Devils known at the beginning of the season when a broken wrist put him out of action.
"Losing Logan changed the entire dynamic of our team," Jackson said. "His play behind the plate was crucial and many saw a different team once he came back into the lineup."
Third on the Red Devils in offense, the AP senior batted .347 with five doubles and 15 RBI and scored 20 runs for Avon Park, while posting a .989 fielding percentage.

CORY WATT, SENIOR, SEBRING No matter what position in the infield that Watt was asked to play, the Blue Streak senior always came up with big plays at big times.
"Cory always seemed to be in the right position to make a play for us," Rewis said. "He was an extremely dependable player."
Watt finished the season batting .287 with 11 RBI in the No. 2 slot and stole seven bases for the Streaks.

CORY TOPA, SENIOR, AVON PARK Topa could be counted on for that timely hit when the Red Devils needed it the most.
The AP senior batted .349 with 19 RBI and a .446 slugging percentage, not to mention going 2-4 on the mound with a 3.12 ERA and striking out 38 in 40.1 innings.
"Cory pitched all of our tough games and led the team in ERA," Coach Jackson said. "He was also one of our clutch hitters and was second on our team in offense."

KYLE LONG, SENIOR, SEBRING All anyone has to do is look at the Class 4A regional semifinal game against Bartow to see just how valuable Long was to the Streaks.
With two outs and the tying run at the plate against Bartow, a soaring fly ball into right center that looked to be a sure-fire extra base hit found its way into Long's glove, who made a diving acrobatic catch to end the game and lift the Streaks into the regional finals.
"If it weren't for Kyle going out with that injury, I believe we'd have won regionals," Rewis said. "He made so many plays in the outfield that literally saved our season."
His value was also in his bat: The Sebring centerfielder batted .325 two homers, five doubles and four triples, while driving in 21 RBI for the Streaks.

CODY HIGGINS, JUNIOR, SEBRING Batting lead-off, Higgins set the tone for the Blue Streak offense, while his defensive skills were some of the best in the area.
The junior shortstop batted .351 with two homers and 20 RBI for the Streaks, while also going 4-1 with 45 strike outs on the mound.
"Cody was our Mr. Everything this season," Rewis said. "He would get key hits for us or get the plays on defense that we needed him to make at the right time."
Higgins will be a key member of for the Streaks in 2009.

MIKE JONES, SENIOR, SEBRING Another player that was vital to the success of the Sebring baseball team, Jones was the backbone of the Blue Streaks at catcher.
"All you have to do is look at the games Mike was out," Rewis said. "We struggled as a team. He's one of the few catchers that I've let call his own pitches.
"All the pitchers had faith in Mike."
Jones batted just .313 with nine RBI in the No. 6 slot in the batting order, but his value was measured more on the pitcher's success than in his own stats.

STEVEN FORTNER, SENIOR, SEBRING Fortner blossomed into a solid No. 3 starter for the Streaks in his senior campaign and came up big for them in getting the win against Bartow in the regional semifinal.
"Steve improved probably the most of any player this season," Rewis said. "We asked him just to pitch, and he handled himself with class. He was a pleasure to coach."
Fortner finished the season with an 8-1 record with 55 strike outs in just 49 innings on the mound.

ROBERTO COLON, SENIOR, AVON PARK Moving into Avon Park from Puerto Rico, Colon made his only year as a Red Devil count.
The Avon Park shortstop batted .339 with 13 RBI and nine stolen bases this season.
"I wished we had him for four years," Jackson said. "He came out of nowhere and was a huge plus for us."

Coach Of The Year
For leading the Blue Streaks to consecutive Class 4A regional finals and a 23-9 overall record this season, Sebring head coach Hoppy Rewis has been named the 2008 Highlands Today All-Heartland Coach of the Year.

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