Plenty of locals on baseball all-state squads

A pair of area baseball players have earned high praise from Florida sports writers.

Cardinal Mooney's Jon Zalud (Class 3A) and Out-of-Door Academy's A.J. Strong (1A) were named to their classification's first team all-state squads, which were released Tuesday.

Zalud, a senior, is a catcher and Strong, a junior, is an outfielder. Both players helped their teams reach the regional championship series in the spring.

Cardinal Mooney senior Nick Conforti made the second team as an outfielder, and classmate Tommy Goodman was named to the third team as an infielder. Pitchers Devin Carr (sophomore) and Michael Heller (senior) earned honorable mention.

The Thunder's Sean Fleeman (infielder), a junior, and Tony Gurry (utility) made the second team, while Taylor Emmons (utility) made the third team. Guiry and Emmons are seniors.

Saint Stephen's Conor McCarthy, a senior outfielder, was a second-team pick in Class 2A.

Southeast to be featured twice on game of the week

Bright House Sports Network will make two trips to Manatee County this fall for its football game of the week. Both games will include Southeast.
The Seminoles' regular-season opener against visiting Palmetto, scheduled for Sept. 4, and their Sept. 18th game with arch rival Manatee will be featured live on the network at 7:30 p.m.