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Tarpon Springs Baseball Finding New Direction

Coach, Countryside Grad And Ex-Italy Olympian, Stresses Work Ethic

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: March 13, 2009

Updated:

TARPON SPRINGS - Sometimes it takes a little shake-up to get things back on track. That may be the case for Tarpon Springs High baseball and first-year head coach Vinny Parisi.

After a mediocre 2008 season for the Spongers, Tarpon hopes to rebound and contend within a competitive Class 5A, District 9, field that includes last year's state champ, Dunedin High School.

Part of that comes from Parisi's focus on getting his team refocused on the basics.

"We really stress work ethic," Parisi said. "We preach it whether you're stretching or out on the field. It's tough changing from an old program to a new one, but we've been going back to square one and the fundamentals."

As of Wednesday, the Spongers were 1-2, but also boast a 3-2 preseason victory over perennial diamond powerhouse Seminole. One of the two losses was a tightly contested 4-2 game against Dunedin.

Powering the Spongers thus far has undoubtedly been their solid pitching staff. With a combined ERA of 1.63, Tarpon pitchers have been able to create winning opportunities each night.

University of North Florida signee Tommy Organ leads the formidable rotation and is joined by fellow lefty Alex Young and righties Junior Robinson and Matt Freburg.

Helping the mound staff take its strides has been the job of Parisi and pitching coach Chris Wilson.

For the past seven years, Parisi, a Countryside High School grad, was catching professionally in Italy. He was a member of the 2004 Italian Olympic baseball team, which participated in the Athens games.

Wilson, a Tarpon grad, was drafted as a pitcher by Kansas City in the 1997 draft and has logged Major League innings.

Having Wilson throw to hitters during practice offers invaluable experience, Parisi said.

"Chris throws live during practice and that will be big later for these guys getting in the batter's box to be comfortable seeing the type of pitching they'll face later in the year."

"Not a lot of teams have that opportunity. Chris still has Triple-A stuff right now and it helps the hitters seeing that and the catchers catching it."

While Tarpon's rotation is thriving early, the bats are still yet to catch up.

Only four regular position players are hitting .250 or better. Hits in key situations have been tough to come by, but Organ said he is hopeful his supporting cast will get back to their preseason success.

"The pitching's been great so far," Parisi said. "Our hitting was really good during the first couple games, but then it kind of slumped off.

I think we can get it to come around the next few games and score some runs."

As far as Parisi is concerned, as long as he can get his players to commit to working hard, the Spongers will see success down the road.

"We constantly push them about consistency," he said. "Everyone's working for their spot no matter of seniority. There needs to be commitment and accountability. We're all equals so the best nine are going to play."

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