Baseball: Region finals preview

TONIGHT AT 7, UNLESS NOTED

Class 6A

ORLANDO DR. PHILLIPS (20-10) AT ALONSO (20-5)

NEED TO KNOW: Dr. Phillips has been cruising in its past five games. The Panthers have gone 5-0, outscoring opponents 50-11. The squad has blasted a total of 35 homers, which means Alonso ace Jose Fernandez, who will likely get the start, must hit his spots and use his assortment of pitches that have made him a highly touted Major League Baseball prospect. Statistics say that won't be an issue, as Fernandez is 11-1 on the mound with a 1.06 ERA, striking out 121 batters. Meanwhile, Alonso has a team batting average of .364 and has a knack for putting runs on the board at any moment. Fernandez (.407 batting average), Matt Brandy (.397) Ryan Valdes (.392) and Mike Fahrman (.391) are just a few of the Ravens' big hitters.

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Class 5A

DURANT (17-9-1) AT LAKELAND (25-4);

(AT JOKER MARCHANT STADIUM)

NEED TO KNOW: Lakeland has garnered plenty of attention from the pollsters. It is in the No. 20 spot of MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings and has won eight of its last 10. At the plate, the Dreadnaughts are led by Kevin Wortman, hitting .493. The team relies heavily on its outfield trio of Wortman, D.J. Barnes and Erick Barber. … Meanwhile, Durant has maintained its poise all season. The Cougars experienced a midseason slide, but pulled out of it to come in as district runner-ups and later beat Riverview – the team they lost to in that district title game. Tyler Danish (.484 batting average) and Emilio Ogando (66 strikeouts, 1.99 ERA) have been two of the key Cougars. A win would give Durant its first state semifinal appearance.

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Class 4A

JESUIT (25-6) AT ESTERO (27-2); (AT FLORIDA GULF

COAST UNIVERSITY'S SWANSON STADIUM)

NEED TO KNOW: Jesuit introduced its new $2 million facility to the postseason last week against Bradenton Lakewood in dramatic fashion. The Tigers collected a 9-7 victory on a Max Beerman walk-off grand slam. After falling behind 7-3, the Tigers led off the seventh inning with four consecutive singles, plating two on Peter Alonso's hit, which gave him the program's season RBI record of 46, surpassing current assistant coach Geoff Goetz. Two batters later, Beerman blasted the pitch over the left-field wall. … They'll face an Estero team which is on an impressive streak. The Wildcats have won their last 16 games. Only twice has an opponent lost by two runs or fewer. Estero has had 20-win seasons in five of the last six years, but has yet to make a state semifinal appearance. … Despite losing 14 seniors from the 2010 25-man roster, the Tigers are on the doorstep of their 20th state final four appearance. The arm (4-2, 1.92 ERA, 65 Ks) and bat (.422, seven HRs) of junior Lance McCullers has been a big reason for this season's success. Beerman leads the team with eight homers, while Nick Schultz is hitting .439 to go along with his six home runs. Alec Gutierrez (.484) and Pete Alonso (.475) and have also played key roles.

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Class 3A

TAMPA CATHOLIC (14-14) AT

FORT MYERS BISHOP VEROT (27-4)

NEED TO KNOW: Bishop Verot combines the bat of Dan Vogelbach and the arm of Hudson Boyd to keep opponents on their heels. Vogelbach has 16 home runs, while Boyd (10-0) has fanned 112 batters and holds an impressive 0.44 ERA in 64 innings. … After an up-and-down season, TC has won three of four games. Paulie Russo (.480 batting average), Nick Perez (.444) and Billy Endris (.435) lead the group of hot Tampa Catholic hitters. Meanwhile, Derek Martin (5-1, 1.63 ERA and 52 Ks) has steadied the pitching staff.

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Class 2A

SHORECREST PREP (23-10) AT

BROOKS-DEBARTOLO (13-14); (AT FREEDOM HIGH)

NEED TO KNOW: These teams met at the end of March with Shorecrest winning, 6-3. That won't deter a Phoenix group that lost to Bishop McLaughlin three times this season only to face the Hurricanes in the region semifinal and win, 4-3. The Chargers lost their district title game, bouncing back to win their last three contests by a combined 34-7 score. Brooks-DeBartolo tooled its schedule to prepare it for this time of the year. They've taken on bigger teams such as Armwood, Plant City, Tampa Catholic, Wiregrass Ranch and IMG Academy. They're led by the bats of Adam Eggnatz (.598 batting average, 32 RBIs and seven homers) and Javier Reynoso (.593 BA, 37 RBIs and eight HRs). Reynoso is also the team's ace, compiling an 8-3 record, 1.49 ERA and 100 strikeouts.

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Class 1A

CAMBRIDGE CHRISTIAN (16-12) AT

WEST PALM BEACH SUMMIT CHRISTIAN (26-5), 4 P.M.

NEED TO KNOW: The Saints have won five in a row on the field and have dusted off those opponents 60-1 in that span. They're attempted to reach the state tournament for the first time since 2005. The previous season Summit Christian won the Class 1A title. … As for Cambridge, it has reached the region final for a fourth consecutive season. The Lancers, who have finished as state runner-ups in 2008 and '09, are benefitting from the bats of Andrew Widell (.435 BA, five HRs), Zach Hessinger (.395), Jordan Lewis (.380) and Zac Gilcrease (.382). Hessinger's 4-2 record on the mound leads the pitching staff.

Eddie Daniels