Winter Park High bats catch fire

In the last few weeks before the playoffs, the Winter Park Wildcats have dominated in district play on the baseball diamond. But with district games done unusually early this year, the Wildcats have contended with tough foes outside their own playoff bracket, barely emerging with a winning record.

Against upstart Lake Nona (13-5) on April 5, the Wildcats (11-9, 6-1) let things get out of hand in a hurry in what would become a 7-1 blowout. J.P. Colton’s 2-for-2 effort led the team, which struggled in the batter’s box.

That could be the story of the season, had it not changed in the last few weeks. The Wildcats have had trouble plating batters for much of the season, their saving grace coming in the form of stellar starting pitching. But in recent games the Wildcats’ bats have been heating up. In just a one-week span starting March 20 they scored eight runs or more in four games, a feat they hadn’t accomplished at all for the first six weeks of the season.

But those bats have been inconsistent, and their last two losses showed some nervousness. Wednesday night they played at press time against Freedom. They hit the road for three games, playing their closest at Lake Howell at 7 p.m. April 16 before returning home for their regular season finale against Boone at 7 p.m. April 19. Then it’s district tournament time, with the Wildcats playing the hosts.