Winter Springs baseball on historic run in Florida Class 6A

WINTER SPRINGS, Fla. – The Winter Springs Bears were in a hibernation of sorts the first month of the 2023 baseball season. But the Bears are wide awake now.

After stumbling to a 5-5 start with one of the most talented rosters in Central Florida, Winter Springs has gone 13-4-1, including two regional playoff wins, over the last seven weeks to stand at 18-9-1 heading into mid-May.

The Bears proved they are for real when they overwhelmed top-seeded Pace 10-4 in a Class 6A, Region 1 quarterfinal on May 10 and then followed that up with a 14-3 rout of Tallahassee Leon (21-8) in a region semifinal on May 13 – both on the road. Pace ended the season at 24-3.

The two victories propelled eighth-seeded Winter Springs into the region championship game against host and No. 2 seed Gainesville Buchholz (21-6) on Tuesday – the farthest the Bears have ever been in the postseason.

“I feel like we are playing to our potential where we are doing the little things right in all aspects of the game and we are playing together as one unit, as one team,” said Winter Springs coach Mike Bradley. “I was really excited for our boys regarding both regional wins. Both were big wins and are reflections of what our club is truly capable of doing.

“Really proud of our team right now and happy for these seniors,” Bradley said. “They have worked so hard and are deserving of a great finish to their high school baseball careers.”

Three of those seniors – catcher Jacob McKenzie, infielder Matthew George, and first baseman Logan Hughes – have stepped up huge this season. McKenzie, an FIU commit, is batting .310 with five doubles, one triple, 27 runs scored and 22 RBI. He is a third-year varsity starter.

Hughes, one of the highest-rated first basemen in the country and a Stetson signee, is batting .350 with six doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 30 runs scored and 35 RBI.

George is not far behind with a .307 batting average, two doubles, three home runs, 14 runs scored and 27 RBI. He has been one of the team’s inspirational stories as he sat out the last two seasons with consecutive reconstructive knee surgeries.

Also hitting well for the Bears are Sam Downey, who is batting .411 with three doubles, one triple and 18 runs scored; and Dylan LeMorta, .364 with five runs scored.

“I believe our performance as a team has been excelling because of how we have been supporting each other and picking each other up,” said Hughes, a four-year varsity starter and All-State selection. “We have been more of a team than ever before.

“But I don’t feel it is random or luck, and I, for sure, wouldn’t consider us the underdogs,” Hughes said, “because I knew we had it in us all along; it was just a matter of time.”

Winter Springs has been equally as impressive on the mound with UCF commit Max Murray, a sophomore who has a 2.33 earned run average with 36 strikeouts, and junior newcomer Michael Vice, 2.04 ERA and 25 strikeouts, leading the way.

The team’s balance is what impressed Bradley to begin the season. Last year’s squad won the Seminole Athletic Conference title, and they had plenty of returnees back.

Winter Springs seemed to find its mojo when it beat Seminole, 8-4, on March 24, kickstarting a seven-game win streak. After a three-game slide, the Bears rebounded to go 7-1-1 over the next nine games, including a 3-3 tie with Class 4A power Bishop Moore.

The Bears really turned heads when it battled past Hagerty, 3-2, in eight innings to win the District 4 title. Winter Springs then carried that momentum into the regional playoffs.

If Winter Springs can beat Buchholz, it will advance to its first-ever state semifinal.

“Everyone has stepped up and I like the way we go about ourselves and continue to play,” Hughes said. “I’m excited to see where it goes.”