The Florida Collegiate Summer League recently announced the formation of a new wood-bat baseball league to its operations beginning this summer.

The Futures Wood-bat League (FWL) will provide an opportunity for graduated high school seniors and current college players the chance to tune their skills and get a head start on their college baseball careers prior to ever walking on campus.

FWL players will consist of those who have signed National Letters of Intent and are on pace to play college baseball in the Fall of 2011. The league will provide a collegiate-level playing experience for its participants.

The FWL will consist of four teams with small rosters, ensuring adequate playing time and repetitions for all participants. Each team will play a 20-25 game season on the same quality fields that Florida Collegiate Summer League teams use. Games will be played locally in Central Florida during the months of June and July.

“With the launch of the FWL, we are pleased to provide a transitional and highly competitive opportunity for the college baseball stars of tomorrow,” FCSL Vice-President and FWL Director Stefano Foggi said. ”The league will feature some of the best players from the state of Florida, and will be the highest level of play available at this age.”

More information is available by emailing sfoggi@floridaleague.com or calling 321-206-9174.

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Registration begins at 10 a.m. with a shotgun start scheduled for 12 noon. To inquire about openings for foursomes visit Florida League, where info on other events being held over the weekend is available.

Among the 25 baseball celebrities committed to participate at the event are Ozzie Smith, Davey Johnson, Vince Coleman, Gary Carter, Frank Viola, Zack Greinke and Fred McGriff.

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Nick Goody was named most valuable player after striking out nine and allowing just two hits (both in the second inning) and one walk over seven innings. Jake Boyd and Chandler Jagodzinski closed out the game for Winter Park. The Diamond Dawgs pitching staff gave up only three hits on the night.

Chase Okey hit a two-out single to right field in the bottom of the seventh inning to drive in Spencer Theisen from second base for what proved to be the winning run. Trey Blackman went 2-for-3 at the plate for Winter Park as the team compiled six hits in all during an error-less game.

Winter Park also won the FCLS Championship Game in 2006 under current Orlando Mavericks Manager Scott Makarewicz. In 2010, the Diamond Dawgs set a league record with 31 wins after going 28-11 in the regular season under manager Clint Chrysler.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

A new breed of Dawgs are now just one game away from changing all that as Winter Park takes on the defending-champion Leesburg Lightning in St. Petersburg on Thursday. The college game will follow the 12:10 p.m. matchup between the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays. Estimated start time for the FCSL Championship Game is 5 p.m.

Leesburg, coached by former Major League Baseball pitcher Frank Viola, also took home the title in 2007.

For the Diamond Dawgs, who have garnered a Top-20 ranking this season among the nation’s other summer league baseball teams, it’s been quite a turnaround after winning just 10 games a year ago. Winter Park earned the No. 1 seed in the five-team league with a 28-11 regular season record while Leesburg (19-23) comes in as the No. 3 seed.

Although the Leesburg roster features eight players who have previously played in an FCSL title game, the Diamond Dawgs feature the top two hitters in the league in batting champ Sam Kimmel and runner-up LB Dantzler.

Winter Park, coached by Clint Chrysler, also has home run leader Brad Hutton in the lineup and the league’s saves leader in Chandler Jagodzinski to call upon from out of the bullpen.

The Lightning are led by the team’s all-time wins leader Kyle Wahl, along with Danny Baatz and Nick DelGuidice.

– 2010 Season Statistics @ Florida League –

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The all-star game will be broadcasted on Bright House Sports Network. The five-team league runs through Aug. 5 when the championship game is played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

– League Leader: Batting Average

SS Samuel Kimmel – Winter Park – The Jupiter native and last season’s most valuable player at Indian River State College leads the FCSL with a .374 batting average. In 99 appearances at the plate (through 23 games), Kimmel has accounted for 37 hits, 15 RBI, 13 runs, 7 walks and 4 doubles while striking out just 12 times for the Diamond Dawgs. On July 2 against DeLand he went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a stolen base in a 6-5 win and on July 9 he finished 4-for-6 with two RBI in an 11-10 win at Leesburg.

Next in Line: Sanford has three players atop the standings at the all-star break, including Jabari Blash at .353, Tyler Benzel at .350, and Kelvin Clark at .343 for the River Rats. Winter Park’s Brad Dantzler is batting .339 to round out the Top-5.

– League Leader: Runs Batted In

IF Tyler Benzel – Sanford – The Florida Southern transfer not only carries a .350 batting average but has drove in a league-high 21 runs thus far on the season. In 117 plate appearances (through 29 games), Benzel has 41 hits, 25 runs, 11 walks, 6 doubles and 2 home runs against 17 strikeouts this summer. On June 28 he went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two stolen bases in a 17-5 win at Winter Park then on July 8 against Orlando he went 2-for-4 with two RBI in a 3-1 win.

Next in Line: Winter Park’s Alex Friedrich (20), Sanford’s Kelvin Clark (18), Leesburg’s Mark Darlington (17) and Winter Park’s Mitchel Brennan (17) lead the league in runs driven in.

– League Leader: Earned Run Average

RHP Zachary Haile – Sanford – The Lake Mary alum carries a 1.57 ERA into the all-star break after making five starts and appearing in six games in all. In 34.1 innings of work he’s allowed 28 hits, struck out 18, walked just 2 batters and stands at 4-0 on the summer. The best outing for Haile this season came on June 25 against DeLand when he pitched eight scoreless innings, giving up five hits and striking out four in an 8-0 win.

Next in Line: Leesburg’s Nic Kovacs (1.59), Sanford’s Josh Strawn (1.64), Winter Park’s Bobby Bolling (1.73) and Leesburg’s Kyle Wahl (1.93) are the only pitchers in the league with a sub-2.00 ERA.

– League Leader: Strikeouts

LHP Steven Starbird – Orlando – The Tennessee native out of Lincoln Memorial has struck out 39 batters over 42 innings this summer while making seven appearances for the Mavericks. Starbird has given up 37 hits, walked 10 and owns a 3-1 record with a 2.57 ERA. On June 8 he struck out seven in five innings and allowed just two hits at Winter Park then struck out eight more Diamond Dawgs on July 10 while giving up three hits and an earned run over 8.1 innings in a 6-1 win.

Next in Line: Leesburg’s Kyle Wahl (34), DeLand’s Joseph Munoz (27), Winter Park’s Trey Dahl (26) and Jake Boyd (26) are among the top strikeout pitchers this summer.

– More League Leaders:

Infielder Drew Morgan (Sanford) leads the league in runs scored with 26 and walks with 24… Infielder Tyler Benzel (Sanford) leads the league in hits with 41… Outfielder Mark Nelson (Orlando) leads the league in doubles with 10… Outfielder Alex Friedrich (Winter Park) leads the league in triples with 4… Outfielder Stephen Bellantoni (DeLand) leads the league in stolen bases with 19… Catcher Brad Hutton (Winter Park) leads the league in home runs with 3… Right-hander Zachary Haile (Sanford) leads the league in wins with 4… Winter Park’s Chandler Jagodzinski leads the league in saves with 8… Leesburg’s Nic Kovacs is the only pitcher this summer to record a complete game as he shut out DeLand 2-0 on June 16 by striking out four and allowing five on base.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –

In the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, local baseball players began to be selected by big league clubs. Below is a look at who they were, where they were picked, and what team made the call.

– 2010 MLB Draft Top-10 Local Picks –

– LHP Justin Nicolino (University) selected No. 80 overall by Toronto in 2nd round. WESH Video

– RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo) selected No. 116 overall by Washington in 4th round.

– CF Mason Williams (West Orange) selected No. 145 overall by NY Yankees in 4th round.

– LHP Alex Burgos (Osceola/State College of Florida) selected No. 163 overall by Detroit in 5th round.

– LHP John Gast (Lake Brantley/Florida State) selected No. 199 overall by St. Louis in 6th round.

– RF Jose Dore (The First Academy) selected No. 244 overall by San Diego in 8th round.

– SS Mike Freeman (Edgewater/Clemson) selected No. 331 overall by Arizona in 11th round.

– RHP Cody Allen (Boone/UCF/St. Petersburg JC) selected No. 480 overall by Cleveland in 16th round.

– RHP Owen Dew (UCF) selected No. 630 overall by Cleveland in 21st round.

– C Shane Brown (Winter Park/UCF) selected No. 715 overall by NY Yankees in 23rd round.

– More Local MLB Draft Picks –

LF Chris Duffy (Cypress Creek/UCF) at No. 801 overall to Philadelphia (26th round); CF Jay Gonzalez (Freedom) No. 833 overall to Boston (27th round); RHP Tim Griffin (Rollins College) No. 852 overall to Seattle (28th round); LHP Ronald Schreurs (Freedom) No. 1,296 overall to Toronto (43rd round); LHP Jimmy Hodgskin (Bishop Moore) No. 1,311 overall to Philadelphia (43rd round); OF Tyler Marincov (Timber Creek) No. 1,453 overall to Detroit (48th round).

– Draft Notes –

– The UCF Knights have had nine different players selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years, including Brown, who has now been drafted twice by the Yankees. Last season he was picked in the 47th round. In all, UCF has had its baseball players drafted by MLB organizations 73 times since 1979. Dew was taken in the 33rd round in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels. Duffy, who was selected in the 9th round out of high school, completed his four-year career as a finalist for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as one of the top amateur players in the nation.

– The Florida Collegiate Summer League had the highest number of current or former baseball players drafted over the three-day MLB selection process as 25 FCSL players were taken, including five in the first eight rounds. A complete list of draftees is available at Florida League.

Welcome to this week’s version of Orlando Sports Central Highlights…

– Local Product Leads AFL Predators –

Just two days after signing with the Arena Football League’s Orlando Predators, former Kissimmee Osceola football and basketball standout Bobby Sippio made an immediate impact.

In the final seconds of Friday’s game, Sippio hauled in a 40-yard touchdown pass from Nick Hill to help secure a 58-54 win over the visiting Milwaukee Iron. He finished the game with 88 yards and two touchdowns on six catches.

After starting the season 0-3, the Predators have won three-straight to move to 3-3 overall. They host rival Tampa Bay Storm (3-3) on Friday at 8 p.m. at Amway Arena. Orlando and Tampa currently trail Jacksonville (6-1) and Alabama (4-3) in the division.

After playing his college ball at Western Kentucky, Sippio (6’3″, 215 lbs) played arena football with the Storm, Chicago Rush, Dallas Desperados and Peoria Pirates of arenafootball2. He also got opportunities in the National Football League with the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions as well as the United Football League’s California Redwoods and Florida Tuskers. In 2007 he led the AFL with 53 touchdown receptions while playing with the Rush.

– Former FCSL Player Gets Call To Majors –

Word out of the Florida Collegiate Summer League is that one of its own was recently called up to Major League Baseball last week.

Lucroy

Catcher Jonathan Lucroy became the first FCSL alum to crack the big leagues since the wood-bat league was founded in 2003. The Milwaukee Brewers brought up Lucroy from Triple-A Nashville on May 21 when Gregg Zaun was forced to the disabled list.

The rookie then got his first big-league hit that night in his first at-bat while on the road against the Minnesota Twins. He singled to left field in the eighth inning.

Lucroy, out of Eustis, was a standout for the Sanford River Rats and Winter Park Diamond Dawgs. He ranks second all-time in FCSL batting average (.325) and slugging percentage (.500).

Considered Milwaukee’s top catching prospect, and fifth-best prospect overall, Lucroy started the season at Double-A Huntsville before moving on to Nashville after hitting .452 in 10 games. He has since registered a .238 batting average with two home runs in 31 total games on the year.

The 2010 FCSL season gets underway on Thursday, June 3 at Sanford Memorial Stadium when the River Rats host Leesburg at 7 p.m. The five-team league runs through Aug. 5 when the championship game is played at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg.

– Bishop Moore Lax Alum In D-III Title Game –

Von Kamecke

Salisbury University senior Mike Von Kamecke has one more lacrosse game to play before his college career closes out this weekend.

On Sunday at 12 p.m. in Baltimore, Md., the former Bishop Moore standout takes the field with the Salisbury Sea Gulls (21-1) for the final time as they meet up with Tufts (19-1) for the NCAA Division III title. In a 14-13 semifinal win in overtime against Stevenson, Von Kamecke finished with three goals on five shots and was credited with two assists. It’s the fourth trip to the championship game over the past five years for Salisbury.

Von Kamecke is capping off his best season to date as he’s second on the team in assists (30), third in points (70), fourth in goals (40) and leads the team in man-up goals with nine on the year.

He closed out his high school career with the second-most points ever for a Hornet (288) between 2003-2006 while leading Bishop Moore to a state runner-up finish his senior year.

– Student-Athletes Sign With Colleges –

– University High School girls basketball player Rachel Turner signed on with Southeastern University in Lakeland last week. Turner earned four letters as a Cougar, playing a big role in the programs first two district titles following the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons and its first conference title this past year. The two-year captain finished her career with over 500 points, 250 rebounds and 100 assists. She plans to study special education and would like to work as a teacher and coach.

– The number of Colonial High School football players moving on to play in college increased to five last week when defensive back Renard Allen signed with Concordia University in Chicago and quarterback Jose Castro signed with Baker University in Kansas. They join running back Jermaine Broomfield, bound for Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, defensive lineman Ryan Moore (Baker University) and offensive lineman Sammy Mendoza (Defiance University in Ohio) as signees from the 2009 team.

– Last week Timber Creek High School had two student-athletes sign on with college football programs as Cameron Smith is heading to St. Olaf College in Minnesota and Matt Jones will be off to Mount Union College in Ohio.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –