Strong happy with Manatee's direction

Manatee's baseball season may have ended earlier than he had hoped, but coach Dwayne Strong likes where the program is headed.
And with good reason.
In three seasons at the helm, Strong has helped the Hurricanes to two consecutive regional appearances, the first time Manatee baseball has accomplished that feat since 1997-99.
"Kids are working hard," Strong said after the Canes lost 3-2 to Tampa King on Tuesday in a Class 5A-Region 3 quarterfinal. "We've just got to continue to buy into what we're trying to do."
Josh Clemen, Sean Smith, Dustin Johnson and Aaron Graham were the only seniors in the starting lineup Tuesday.
"Everybody else is back," Strong said.
Included in that lot is sophomore Correlle Prime, who pitched 6 1/3 solid innings against Venice during last week's District 10 title game. Freshman Scott Kelly also piled up innings on the mound this season, which should help offset the loss of Clemen, the staff's ace who is headed to State College of Florida next season.
In fact, the upper third of Manatee's batting order Tuesday - Chase Sandberg, Cord Sandberg and Bryan Voelkl - was comprised of underclassmen.
"We're looking forward to some good things in the years to come," Strong said.