FORT PIERCE - Under the watchful eye of coach Dwayne Strong, pictured above, Manatee spent roughly an hour taking batting practice, shagging flies and fielding grounders Thursday at the Bob Gladwin Baseball Complex in Lawnwood.
The complex, which also includes a football stadium and tennis courts, is located about 10 miles from Port St. Lucie's Digital Domain Park, site of Friday's Class 5A state semifinal between the Hurricanes and Lakeland.
"I just wanted to stay in the routine that we've been doing...and we didn't want to miss a day swinging the bats," Strong said. "The other thing, I don't want to get stale in that hotel room."
The Hurricanes also planned on attending Thursday's Class 3A state final between Fort Myers Bishop Verot and Pensacola. Verot, which eliminated Southeast in a regional semifinal, won the state title with a 4-3 win.
Friday begins with breakfast at 8 a.m. followed by another trip to Digital Domain Park to watch of a few innings of the Class 2A semifinal between Maitland Orangewood Christian and Tampa Brooks-DeBartolo. That game begins at 10.
"Then we'll come back and have lunch," Strong said, "and get ready to go."
With assistant Danny Carter pitching from behind a screen, the Hurricanes batted in shifts. Meanwhile, assistant coach Richard Glass, who is documenting the trip on video, and Strong hit grounders to the Canes infielders.
"We can't stop talking about it, and we can't wait for (Friday)," said junior Correlle Prime, who is 9-1 on the mound and is batting .390.
A win Friday means Manatee plays for the state championship Saturday against either Pace or West Boca Community.
Getting to the final four is an accomplishment. That said, the Canes want to see it through.
"Don't get me wrong - we're not going to tied up in if we don't win (Friday) or we don't win Saturday, it's the end of the world, because this has been a great experience," Strong said. "But I can tell you one thing, if something happens, and we don't (win), it's going to hurt, because these guys put a lot of work in.
"But they're not going to let it take away from their experience, because they're enjoying this. This is awesome."
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