Like many Super Bowls, the hype for Thursday's Avon Park/Sebring wrestling dual meet may have outshined the actual match. ...more

January 24, 2009

The uniforms may have been practice gear, the scoreboard wasn't on and the voice of Hal Graves calling out one more trivia question was noticeably absent at Panther Field last Wednesday. ...more

October 7, 2008

Johnny Sedlock walked onto the campus of the University of Central Florida on Wednesday and he knew he was in the right place. ...more

October 4, 2008

Designer clothes for kids and extra baggy pants were not the fashion a number of years ago when Jayma Hitt was a student at Woodlawn Elementary School. ...more

September 24, 2008

SEBRING — After playing together for years in Dixie Majors and leading Sebring High School to the Class 4A state final four last year and the regional finals this season, Adam Simmons and Tony Vazquez's dream of playing college baseball will take them on different paths. ...more

May 21, 2008

PALATKA — The Panthers exploded for 11 runs in the first inning on Friday and never looked back as the South Florida Community College baseball team crushed St. John's River CC 12-0 to start a three-game road trip out with a bang. "We talked before the game about being ready for the first pitch," said SFCC coach Rick Hitt. "And they definitely were, which was nice to see." ...more

February 10, 2008

AVON PARK — South Florida Community College baseball coach Rick Hitt doesn't believe in moral victories. After watching his Panthers erase an 11-run deficit only to fall 13-12 to Hillsborough Community College on Wednesday, his assessment was rather blunt. "A loss is a loss, plain and simple," Hitt said. "Yes, they battled back and I applaud them for that, but we still lost." After falling behind 10-0, SFCC's Brandon Decker broke the scoreless drought for the Panthers (4-5) with a two-run blast over the right-field fence in the fifth, but the Hawks responded by adding three runs in the top-half of the seventh for a 13-2 advantage. After scoring three runs off a double by Ryan Thorlton and a sacrifice fly by pitcher Cameron Nelson, the Panthers exploded for three home runs by Jasper Brown, Brien Coppola and Nelson to cut the lead to two. ...more

February 8, 2008

AVON PARK — The South Florida Community College baseball team had a lead as late as the sixth inning, but a Seminole grand slam and missed opportunities at the plate were enough for Seminole Community College to pull off a 7-2 victory over SFCC at Panther Field. The Panthers (0-3) pitched well most of the game, according to coach Rick Hitt, but timely hits were tough to find: SFCC left six baserunners stranded in the final three innings and nine runners on the night. ...more

January 30, 2008

AVON PARK — Think back to high school baseball last season. Picture Avon Park's Johnny Sedlock's curve ball striking out batter after batter or Sebring's J.T. Tomlinson getting a timely hit. Or remember Blue Streak hurler Chaz Abeln pitching a complete game to get his team into the state's final four. Now picture all those kids and more from the area making the same plays for the South Florida Community College Panther team. "That's magic," said Sebring's Corey Ritter. ...more

January 25, 2008

AVON PARK – Nearly 300 wins and 10 years as the skipper of the South Florida Community College baseball team brings a smile to Rick Hitt's face. But the number 54 means more to him than any of the other accolades. ...more

January 23, 2008