The Bloomingdale High School boys’ baseball team won their third regional title since 2014, and the first since they won the state championship in 2021. The team, which finished 19-11, had their ups and downs during the season, but they made a run in the regional tournament after losing in the district championship to Palmetto High School 4-2.
The Bulls were awarded an at-large bid for the regional tournament and avenged their loss to Palmetto in the first round, beating them 13-0. They went on to beat East Lake and Sickles high schools in route to another state tournament appearance, in which they lost to Buchholz High School in the state semifinal.
Head coach Kris Wilken, who was coaching in his 17th season, said that his team was unique in the fact that they didn’t have a particular facet of the game that they relied heavily on; they were able to win in many different ways. He said that the players got hot in a 10-day stretch during regionals and played the most complete three games they had all season long.
“The three regional games were extremely special,” said Wilken. “We weren’t sure where we stood when we went into the district tournament. We felt like we put ourselves in a bad position and had to win the district tournament in order to move on. I think when we lost the district championship game, I could see the look on the seniors’ faces and they thought it was over, that we were done and their high school careers were over. The selection show came out and we were a five seed, and they had a rejuvenation like ‘we don’t want that feeling of finality again.’”
The team heavily leaned on senior outfielder Cooper Hinson’s bat and starting pitcher Hayden Porter’s arm. Junior catcher Vincent Dinzeo Jr. was a big leader for the Bulls. Hinson, a University of Marshall signee and Wade Boggs Athletic Achievement Award recipient, led the team in hitting with a .448 average, with two home runs, 19 RBIs and 39 hits. Porter, a Bell Creek High School transfer, led the pitching staff with a 6-4 record, 66 strikeouts and a 1.55 ERA. He wasn’t able to pitch in the state tournament because of pitch-limit rules.
Bloomingdale will have to replace 10 seniors, but it will have 25 players returning to the program including Porter.
