The time? 7:00 p.m. The date? Tuesday, Feb 14th. The place? The Jesuit High School baseball field. The Plant Panthers played their first pre-season opener for the 2022-2023 season against the Jesuit Tigers. 

Senior Jack Meade was the opening batter for the first inning. Meade committed to playing for the HCC Hawks for baseball. He was tagged out at first base. 

Next was sophomore Cash Strayer, who is a University of Florida baseball commit, who hit the first and only home run of the game. Strayer is a southpaw, or left-handed, and was the first score of the game.  

“I thought the game was super fun,” Strayer said. “It was exciting to start the season with a win. I do wish we made bigger plays though, hopefully next game we will make more strikes.” 

Another score was not achieved by either team until the top of the third inning. Strayer hit a double, or made it to second base, and scored the second run a few minutes later, making the score 2-0, Panthers. 

Jesuit made their first run at the bottom of the fourth. The score stayed the same until the top of the fifth, when Meade ran in to make the score 3-1.  

“I think offensively and defensively we played really well,” Meade said. “I’m super proud of the team and Cash for his solo home run, that was the highlight of the game for me.” 

The final score against the Jesuit Tigers was 3-1, Panther’s victory. 

The next Panther game is on Tuesday, Feb. 21. The game starts at 7:00 p.m. and will be at the Plant baseball field. 

Located below is the baseball team’s roster, stats, and more.  

https://www.maxpreps.com/fl/tampa/plant-panthers/baseball/schedule/