MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week: Bloomingdale baseball

The battle cry is now simple for the Bloomingdale (Valrico) baseball team: "Let's get to tomorrow."

The Bulls and coach Kris Wilken have had loads of success over the years, but getting through the district tournament has been a major obstacle.

Now that Bloomingdale has broken through that barrier, the Bulls are ready for the next step and Friday take on Park Vista (Lake Worth) in the state 8A semifinals in Fort Myers.

Following three straight state wins by a total of four runs, the Bulls have been selected the state's final 2013-14 MaxPreps Florida Team of the Week, presented by the Florida National Guard.

Wilken, whose team last week beat Riverview 6-5, Plant 5-3 and Winter Park 2-1, said the reason for the breakthrough season is two-fold. His teams have won 77 games the last four seasons.

"Number one, we coaches really tried to change the mindset of the kids going into the season," Wilken said. "We have had success the past few years in regards to win totals, but have struggled to get out of our own district. So we emphasized all year that our regular season games were going to be used to get better everyday in preparation for the district tournament. The kids really bought into it and have played at a different level ever since the district tournament.

"Number two, our district is extremely good from top to bottom. We played district opponents 11 times before entering the district tournament and I really believe that prepared us for right now more than anything."

In the win over Winter Park, winning pitcher Logan Crouse, freshman Justin Gross and Luke Moore combined on a six-hitter, while the offense made the most of four hits. Sophomore Austin James had an RBI single. Down 1-0, Bloomingdale got single tallies in the fifth and sixth.

In the win over Plant, winning pitcher Crouse pitched 3.2 innings in relief of starter Daylon Owens. They combined on a seven-hitter. Crouse also scored the go-ahead run in the eighth. Josh Mote and Crouse drove in runs, Conrado Skepple scored two runs.

Crouse is 8-2 on the year with a 0.69 ERA.

"Logan has really come on offensively since the regional quarterfinals," Wilken said. "He has had big hits and scored big runs for us. But there is no doubt that we play at a different level when he is on the mound. There is a higher level of confidence when he is out there and he's a special athlete that demands the best of himself and his teammates."

The Bulls almost didn't make it to the second round of the regionals, but fought back from a 4-2 deficit in the sixth against Riverview. They scored three in the sixth and two in the seventh and finished with 13 hits, including three by Crouse, who went the distance to pick up the pitching win.

He had a double and triple and drove in one, while Skepple, Doug Sandberg and Cody Wilson all had two hits.

The team is hitting .252, led by Skepple (.381) with 32 hits, including eight for extra bases. The Bulls love to run with 63 stolen bases, led by Sandberg and Skepple with 19 steals apiece.

"From a skill standpoint, Conrado is as talented as any position player that I've had," Wilken said. "He has really grown the past couple years mentally and really tries to stay within himself and not try to do too much. He has done that all year for us. I'm not going to say it was unexpected because we knew how talented he was, but what he has done this year from a numbers standpoint has been way more than we could have hoped for."

Beyond all the success on the field, the Bulls carry a 3.1 team grade point average as well.

"I'm so proud of all of them. They worked so hard since September on the field, in the weight room and in the classroom," Wilken said. "That makes me as proud, if not more proud, than the on-the-field success we are having."

MaxPreps editorial assistant Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.

Do you know a team that deserves consideration for Florida Team of the Week? Email us with your nominations at FLteamoftheweek@maxpreps.com.