HomeTeam Hot Shots
A spotlight on the Times’ bay area players of the week.
Male Hot Shot: Cobi Johnson, Jr., Mitchell
Sport: Baseball
Skinny: The hard-throwing FSU commit led his team to Pinellas County and delivered one of his best games of the season. Johnson struck out a season-high 13 batters to earn his fifth win of the spring in a 4-2 victory over host Northeast in last week’s tournament. He allowed seven hits in the complete game and finished 2-for-3 at the plate, too. Johnson has emerged as one of Pasco County’s top talents, posting a 1.71 ERA in seven starts while batting .371 with 21 RBIs for the 15-3 Mustangs.
Female Hot Shot: Brooke Freeman, Jr., Durant
Sport: Softball
Skinny: The Cougars’ rightfielder went on a three-game tear as Durant — last in the Class 8A, District 7 race a month ago — climbed back atop the standings. In blowout victories against Bloomingdale, Alonso and West Nassau (the latter in a Bartow tournament), Freeman went 7-for-11 with six RBIs and four extra-base hits. The highlight: two homers in a five-inning, 10-0 rout of Bloomingdale that gave the Cougars (13-8, 6-2) sole possession of first place in the district.