Baseball Brought Us Together

Last night, the entire Panther Organization, everyone who was a part of the Panthers 2016 season, joined together for the end of the year baseball banquet. Everyone who attended the banquet went in very dressy attire. The parents, players, coaches and girlfriends all looked great and ready to enjoy the rest of the night. First, once you came in you had to check-in with the list and then we all socialized for a good hour while eating plenty of appetizers. Then, the doors to the banquet room have oped and everyone took a seat with their clique or family. The announcer then came up to announce how the banquet will play out and congratulated everyone who participated in the 2016 season. After, everyone was served their dinner and we ate a video was presented that showed pictures and memories of the three teams this year. Later, the award ceremony had begun and many talented players were rewarded. Moreover, the seniors were given a tribute and everyone was very proud of what they done. The seniors had also slow danced with their mothers and it was very adorable according to the others. Overall, it was very special night for everyone and some people will leave, but will not be forgotten...

WE WILL ALWAYS BE PANTHER STRONG!

Panthers vs. Cougars ( A Game to Remember )

A win was exactly what Killian needed after dropping two games last week. They got just that beating district rival Palmetto 7-0. Cougars manager Angel Herrera is happy with the way his team came out and showed life on Tuesday. The Cougars got on the scoreboard early in the first when Eddy Arteaga drove one to deep into left for a double to drive in Freddy Zamora, who had double to start the inning off.The fifth and sixth were big innings for the Cougars, where they scored a total of five runs. Gabe Garcia scored Chris Garcia in the fifth with a double to left. Gabe Garcia and Alejandro Mosquera then scored the final two runs of the inning due to an infield error. Eddy Arteaga came up clutch in the sixth when he drove one down the left field line for a triple, driving in Chris Garcia and Kevin Castillo, who had gotten on thanks to a single and double. 

Palmetto did show some life in some of the innings. Aramis Toledo delivered a double in the third, Keaton Zargham shot one up the middle for a base hit in the sixth, but Killian’s pitching kept them in check the whole game. Panthers manager Danny Smith was very disappointed in the loss and hopes that his team can learn from this. 

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Baseball Banquet Closing In

The last event for Palmetto Panther baseball is right around the corner and everyone is very excited! The baseball banquet is a dinner for the coaches, players, and their families. This is for celebrating the great season the Panthers had and to congratulate the players that have become men to continue striving for greatness in their lives. There will be music, dancing, food, and the award ceremony as well. The players must be nervous about what will they recieve. Furthermore, there will a player/mother slow dance to appreciate all the moms have done for each player. Moreover, the players cannot wait to thank Buffy Heldt for all she has done for the organization and being an extra mother for each player. In all, this will the graduation ceremony for the players that have taken part of the Panther Baseball Organization.

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Men

The season may be over for the Panthers, but this year's seniors will live on to become successful men. Head Coach Smith's goal was to make every single player that came to the program become a young man when they leave high school. I believe Coach Smith is a great coach; he has taught us a lot and disciplined us for life out there. All the seniors were able to become young men; they all decided where they wanted to for college and study what they want to major in. Some players have even received baseball scholarships to colleges and universities. For example, Alan Alonso committed to play baseball for a junior college in Missouri and Hector Vazquez committed to play baseball at St. Thomas University as a pitcher. Furthermore, there are many players from the team that are going to college to study what they love and maybe tryout for baseball. For example, Victor Lovo is going to the University of Central Florida to study economics and Ryan Booth is going there as well to study physical therapy. The best part is they will be roommates there and will train to eventually tryout to walk on as baseball players there. Being a Panther is more than what you think; the program will make you...

PANTHER STRONG

Baseballs and Tears

The Panthers have a tradition; they would give it their all no matter who they play. Without a doubt, on the biggest game of their season, they gave it all they had. Yesterday, when the sun was at its peak, the Panthers faced off against the Killian Cougars for the District Semi-Final game. These two teams were evenly matched, but all it will take is a single mistake to tip the game to one side. 

Palmetto for the first time since 2007 was able to host District playoffs this year. The field looked absolutely perfect for the game. The game started with cheers and screams, the surrounding was full of energy and the crowd was ecstatic. Every player on the field had fire in their eyes because this game could be their last. Finally, the game's first pitch was thrown and the District playoff has begun. Through the first three innings the game was tied 0-0, but during the fourth inning the first mistake was made was made by the Panthers and they suffered from it. By the end of the fourth inning, the game was 5-0 with Killian taking the lead. The Panther battled in the last three innings, but they only managed to bring two runs in. As a result, the Panthers lost the game and for many seniors it was the last high school game of their careers.

Tear were shed in that dugout, but we came out strong because everyone knew that they did whatever they possibly could and gave their very all in that entire game. This year would be one for the books.

PANTHER STRONG

The Winning Streak

The Palmetto Panthers are on an amazing winning streak towards the end of the season. They have won five straight and will be playing the Homestead Broncos later on today. They are hoping to win this district game and increase their winning streak to six straight. The Panthers did win their last district battle against the Broncos last week very easily, so hopefully they can do it again. Panther Baseball has been making a lot of noise lately and they will continue to get lots of attention if the winning continues. Since, the team has received buzz cuts after their last defeat against the South Dade Buccaneers they have been victorious since that day.

The Panthers will be on a huge journey to Sarasota this spring break to one of the biggest tournaments of the year. I believe they will be making even more noise up there while playing what they love to do. At the same time they will be on vacation together bonding, relaxing, and having a great time. Also, Head Coach Danny Smith made a bet a few weeks ago about winning five straight games and the Panthers actually completed it. The team will all be receiving brand new pairs of cleats. Soon the whole district will be jealous of the Palmetto Panthers and how fresh they look. Although, we are all animals on the field and the opponent will be our prey.

PANTHER STRONG

The Panthers are on a Roll

The Palmetto Panthers are on a nice winning streak this week. They were able to beat their opponents the past three games. First, they beat their district rivals, the Coral Reef Cudas, which are not very good this year. We should of knocked them out quickly, but we were able to beat them 4-2. Our offense has awaken in this game because everyone was able to hit the ball very well for the most part. Nick Labrada through a good game, but he could of pitched a lot better. Plus, our defense has been getting better lately which is crucial in baseball.

Next, the Panthers faced the Killian Cougars and it was a very intense, nail-biting game. This game decided if we would stay in second place in our district. We defeated the Cougars 2-0 and basically made them feel like little kitty cats. They were very disappointed for losing and the Panthers felt amazing, so they celebrated together at Hole in the Wall! Matt Turner pitched an outstanding complete game against Killian, which led to our victory! Our offense made a few mistakes, but it was good enough to win.

Finally, we absolutely destroyed the Homestead Broncos! They were the worse team we have faced this season so far. We knocked them out 16-1 and went home and celebrated. Our offense is what led to our victory we had more than ten hits that game and just kept scoring on their mistakes. The Panthers will be facing the Southridge Spartans at their home next week and they better be ready for our claws. 

PANTHER STRONG

The Buccaneers Prevailed

The Palmetto Panthers suffered a tragic district loss against  the South Dade Buccaneers. The Buccaneers are ranked #1 in Florida for high school baseball. We wanted to make a statement and win against them so everyone can know who we are. All this excitement to win just backfired on us when we lost 10-0. Hector Vazquez was on the mound pitching for the Panthers that night. He pitched a great game, but there were too many errors on the field and caused a four run lead. Thats not all that caused our defeat; our offense just couldn't hit while we had runner on base. After, Hector Vazquez was taken off the mound by Coach Smith, all hell broke loose and South Dade scored six more runs to finish the game.

The Panther did not only lose that game while on the field, but many things before that game caused our defeat. Their last few practices have been terrible, players have shown up late, there has been no discipline, and everything has been sloppy. Coach Smith was not happy at all with this so he decided to take action. He sat us all down for a team meeting and basically said things are going to be different
from now on. He said we need haircuts, clean shave, and give it our all from now on for the rest of our lives. Therefore, the team decided to all get buzz cuts together for team bonding, which was by far the worst idea we have ever had! The Panthers will take on the Coral Reef Cudas this Saturday on our home turf, so be there! The Panthers will come back!
PANTHER STRONG

Our First District Win

I am back with some amazing news for our Panther Baseball fans. Last night we had an intense game against our district rivals, the South Ridge Spartans. Nick Labrada was our starting pitcher for the game that night. He had some rough inning throughout the game but he managed to throw five innings. Labrada had to throw many pitches because he struggled with getting ahead in counts against the hitters. Also, our defense had a rough night as well with some errors in the infield and the outfield. Hector Vazquez then came in the game and pitched an amazing outing with two strikeouts. Unfortunately, Coach Smith made a mistake with player changes and led to Vazquez not closing the game. Therefore, Matt Turner came in with a four run lead and needed three outs to give the Panthers a district victory. Turners was shaky after walking the first two hitters, but he struck out three straight and had an outstanding performance.

 Our offense was blowing up that night, we had more then ten hits that game as a team. Our team batting average was over .350 after that game. Ryan Booth was the biggest offensive hitter of the night, he went 4-4 in the game and the team was very impressed. What led to our victory yesterday was our energy. The whole game every player was talking, cheering, and yelling their hearts out. I am positive that at least three players lost their voices last night from yelling so much every time we scored and executed the game correctly. Lets go Panthers! Lets get the next district win against the South Dade Bucaneers! Lets stay..
PANTHER STRONG

The Struggle

This week the Palmetto Panthers had to face off against the St. Brendan Sabers! The teams were both fired up from the beginning and the spectators were screaming from the top of their lungs! Unfortunately, the head coach for the Panthers, Danny Smith, was not there because he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Therefore, he could not be there for us and made everything feel a little off. Coach Jeff Steiner was still there for us; he gave us the energy and desire to play yesterday. Hector Vazquez pitched 4 innings with 1 unearned run and 5 strikeouts, which was very impressive. We did not execute hitting properly that game; we had many hits but we could never bring the runs home. The umpires were absolutely horrendous and they made terrible calls all-around. The calls were so bad that our Coach was thrown out of the game for arguing with the umpires, which also led to forfeiting the game. We sort of saw this coming because the umpire already hated palmetto for some reason and was unfair for us. The umpire had no right to call off the game. Our team really wanted to finish this game, but the calls would only get worse if we kept going anyways. The Sabers thought they had a great win, and that really heated up the Panthers. There was about to be an all-out brawl on the baseball field! The Panthers were calmed down by the coaches and some players and had a team meeting. After, the Panthers were thrilled and ready for the next game coming soon next week. 

PANTHER STRONG

Beginning of the Season

The season has started and we are doing decent so far. Our first game of the season was an easy win against Keys Gate Charter. We won the game 15-0. Our offense was outstanding the entire game, we scored at least two runs per inning. Our pitching and defense was amazing, Hector Vazquez had a shutout game with five strikeouts. The coaches were very proud of the entire team, but the team got cocky and let their guard down for their next game. Our next game was against Braddock High School. We lost 15-1 which is very ironic isn't it. Our pitching staff caused our defeat; it was not on point at all. Pitching was terrible; they were not hitting their spots that led to over 10 hits. Defense and offense was pretty well overall. I believe we can comeback from this loss and win next Saturday against Southwest High School. 

According to many team members, they believe that we are low on good pitching this season. They think Hector Vazquez might the only chance for the Panthers to go far this season. Hector Vazquez's response was, " I will use all my power and strength this year to make a statement and make it to June 9th", he seems pumped, but we will see if his words will come reality. 

PANTHER STRONG!

Pre-Season

The baseball season this year has begun and the teams are heating up. As of now we are in pre-season which really does not count, but is a good way to warm up for the real season. The Panthers did play their first pre-season game last Monday and turned out disappointing. We had lost 4-2 against the decent team of Keys Gate Senior High. We were fired up until the 4th inning and then everything went downhill from there. We as a team did not execute our offense and left too many runners on the bases. Pitching was pretty well, but offense was the main culprit of our lost. After the game we kept our heads up and moved forward. We got a game today against Sunset so we will see how it goes soon. I will be on the mound and I look forward to shutting them down. I am visualizing nobody scoring on me and a few strikeouts. I have confidence that our offense will be better today and that we can win this game with ease. This is the last pre-season game before the actual season so I hope our team can get it together today. If the team plays smart and with desire, then I have no doubt we can we today. Lets go Panthers! PANTHER STRONG.

The Season is Here

The spring season is about to begin and everyone is ready for it. Last Wednesday, we had the Dinner on the Diamond, which is an actual dinner with the team and our families on the field. The weather was terrible, but it was still enjoyable to bond and eat good food with each other. Today, the Baseball team wears their uniforms to represent themselves and because tomorrow marks the starting point of the season, the annual Blue & White Game. We are expecting a crowd of a thousand people to attend the event from our school and the whole Palmetto Bay community! This year is extra special because we are including a Miracle League game for the first time ever. This means kids with disabilities all over the community will have a chance to play baseball for their first time, which is very heartwarming. Then right after the Varsity will clash in a game against each other...this is exciting! Next, the Junior Varsity will play against each other right after and so forth. Finally, there will a huge barbeque during the game for all the hungry attendance to our field. This will be the perfect way to start the season right with our panther family. All eyes are on us this season so lets start off with a bang! 

#PANTHER STRONG

The Beginning

My name is Hector Vazquez; I am a new transfer here in Miami Palmetto Senior High. Baseball is my passion and I truly love the game. I came from Felix Varela, but I'm happy to call Palmetto my home now. I can see big things happening this year and I am totally excited for the baseball season this year. Our team is stacked with great players I can see lots of wins and a state championship this year. We have to keep working though, we need to bond, practice extremely hard, and become brother all the way through. I'm happy I am on this team and program. The Panthers Baseball program is well structured and organized. We have an amazing time in practices but, we get our work done. We have an outstanding coaching staff made up of, Coach Smith and Coach Steiner. Coach Smith is a tough, serious coach and has lots of information to give me as a pitcher because he was a great one back in the day. Coach Steiner is just the same but, he is way more loose and loves to crack jokes like a clown. Well the season is right around the corner and the team is pumped, the team is ready, and the team is PANTHER STRONG.