Bulldogs have their sights set high for 2019 season
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, February 19, 2019
- Bo Bonds fires to first base during Suwannee's Green and White scrimmage. Bonds, a four-year starter, headlines a group of talented seniors for the Bulldogs.
LIVE OAK, Fla. — The high school baseball season is set to begin and Suwannee has big goals for 2019. There are seven returning starters from last year’s team that won a district championship and also earned Suwannee’s first playoff win since 2011.
| Date | Opponent | Time |
| Feb. 19 | Union County | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 21 | Madison County | 7 p.m. |
| Feb. 26 | West Nassau | 5:30 p.m. |
| March 1 | Lafayette | 7 p.m. |
| March 2 | @ Colquitt County | 10 a.m. |
| March 7 | Leon | 6 p.m. |
| March 8 | @ Madison County | 7 p.m. |
| March 11 | Lowndes | 6 p.m. |
| March 15 | @ Lincoln | 7 p.m. |
| March 20 | @ Lowndes | 6 p.m. |
| March 22 | Madison County | 7 p.m. |
| March 26 | Deerfield Beach | 7 p.m. |
| March 28 | Baker County | 7 p.m. |
| March 29 | @ Baker County | 7 p.m. |
| April 2 | @ Bradford | 7 p.m. |
| April 5 | @ Columbia | 7 p.m. |
| April 11 | Bolles | 7 p.m. |
| April 12 | @ Bolles | 7 p.m. |
| April 15 | Rickards | 6 p.m. |
| April 16 | @ Tampa Catholic | 6 p.m. |
| April 18 | @ Berkley Prep | 5 p.m. |
| April 22 | @ Yulee | 6 p.m. |
| April 23 | @ Lafayette | 7 p.m. |
| April 26 | Lincoln | 7 p.m. |
| April 29 | Chiles | 6 p.m. |
| April 30 | Chiles | 6 p.m. |
| May 2 | @ Episcopal School of Jacksonville | 7 p.m. |
| May 3 | Bradford | 6 p.m. |
| May 7-9 | District Tournament @ Baker County | TBA |
Most of those returners are seniors.
“We’re putting a lot of weight on the seniors to get us and going and help our team chemistry,” said Bulldogs coach Justin Bruce. “Our lineup 1-9 is going to be really good.
“Our schedule is going to be tough again. We have to fight through some tough games and hopefully try and peak at the right time again this year.”
Suwannee will have a potent middle of the order with seniors Bo Bonds, Trett Wadford, Wyatt Morrill and Ronnie Layton, who hit for power and average last season. Bonds hit three home runs while Morrill had two.
Middle infielder Marquis Jones should also help offensively. He batted .324, scored 19 runs and stole six bases a season ago.
Pitching looks to be a strong point again this season. In each of the past five years, the Bulldogs have had a team ERA better than 3.00.
Bonds (2.48 ERA, 59 1-3 innings, 104 strikeouts in 2018) and Morrill (3.96 ERA, 17 2-3 innings, 24 strikeouts) lead the staff this season. Behind them, though, will be mostly new pitchers who have moved up from JV.
“We have two senior arms at the start of our rotation that we hope can give us some really good innings to start off,” Bruce said. “We also have a lot of guys that get to prove themselves.”
Suwannee has had two players taken in the MLB draft recently, Sam McMillan in 2017 and Hueston Morrill in 2018. Bonds, a Chipola College commit, has the potential to make it three straight years that a Bulldog gets drafted.
Bonds will certainly play an important role in Suwannee’s success this season.
But as Suwannee looks for its first state baseball title in school history, it might come down to former role players who will see increased time on the field. Josh Wharton, EJ Alvarez, Ryan LeNeave and Dalton Croft, as well as some new pitchers moving up from JV, are some of those players.
SHS opens up play today with a home game. The Bulldogs take on Union County at 7 p.m.
