The Bloomingdale High School Bulls dominated opponents, outscoring them 41-3 in five games en route to a second straight Saladino Tournament victory against Tampa Catholic High School at the University of Tampa Baseball Field in March.
It’s the second time that the program has accomplished this, going back-to-back in 1994 and 1995. They also won in 2013. The Bulls have won five overall Saladino championships.
It was the first tournament after the passing of tournament founder Tony Saladino last August. Saladino regularly attended Bloomingdale baseball games in the past to watch his grandchildren play.
“It’s a very difficult tournament to win, and being able to pull it off back-to-back years is pretty special,” said Head Coach Kris Wilken. “I think because of the special relationship I have with the Saladino family, and especially Tony, being able to win the last one that he got to see and the first one that he didn’t get to see is kind of a cool little story for our program, since we have that relationship.”
Bloomingdale, the number one overall seed for a second straight tournament, was dominant all week on the pitching front, only giving up three runs. The momentum continued into the final, where senior third baseman/closer Isaiah Perez threw three hitless innings in his first-ever start on the mound. Perez had the utmost confidence in himself and had a bulldog-like mentality during the game.
“My mindset was to go in and just do what I do — compete hard and dominate,” said Perez. “My favorite memory from the tournament was that last out of the game, getting to celebrate with my guys.”
Saladino Tournament MVP Vaughn Osting came in relief for the last four innings and got the final outs of the ballgame, leading to a 2-0 victory over Tampa Catholic to claim the 45th edition of the spring break tournament. The East Tennessee State University signee recorded the last outs in last year’s 3-0 final against Strawberry Crest High School as well.
“MVP is a huge honor, but I think it was so much a team win,” said Osting. “We wouldn’t have made it to the championship without incredible performances from Javi Navas-Hoyer, Evan Plusquellic and a multitude of different guys. I’m so proud of the way our guys came together and came out victorious.”
Left fielder J.J. Santiago added an insurance run in the seventh with a home run to make the score 2-0, which held up as the final score.
“It was a surreal feeling,” said Santiago. “It was awesome to see all the work I put in behind the scenes fully blossom with the homer, and to give my team some breathing room. I’m grateful to God for putting me in a situation to succeed.”
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