TAMPA — After a standard-setting season, only one question remains: What does Wharton do for an encore?
The Wildcats advanced further than any other team in program history, falling 3-0 in the Class 6A state semifinals to Gainesville Buchholz.
They surrendered all three runs in the first inning, and their offense, which has been so good this season, couldn’t orchestrate a comeback.
But the team finished 27-8, winning five more games than the past two seasons combined, and turned in a season’s worth of memorable performances.
Much of the credit goes to coach Anthony Markle, whose well-rounded pedigree made for an impressive debut season.
Markle brought a wealth of winning experience with him to Wharton. He was an assistant with successful local powerhouse programs in Calvary Christian and Dunedin High.
He was a hitting and defensive coach in the independent Frontier League, and the pitching coach with his hometown Williamsport Crosscutters in 2022, helping win the Major League Baseball 80-game summer Draft League championship.
With such a winning tradition as a coach, Markle cultivated the tools and used a simple phrase to do the same at Wharton: “Show up.”
“They took that message and understood it very well, they showed up every single day,” Markle said. “We talked a lot as a program about what our standards are. Everyone has a choice on what level they want their program to be on and they agreed with us as coaches to have it at a high level.”
The highest level, as it turned out.
After a feeling-out period in fall ball, the Wildcats wasted little time in the spring opening Markle’s eyes to the potential his roster held.
He said the Wildcats showed flashes in the preseason, and after opening their season with a win at home and another against Sickles, “I knew they were for real.”
Many of the team’s seniors led the way:
Justis Meadows batted .414 with 42 hits and 42 RBI.
Antonio Fawcett (batted .320 with a team-best eight homers.
Drew Cobb hit .286 with four homers.
Luke Sauer struck out 42 in 39 innings pitched while putting together a 3.41 earned run average.
Senior leadership and the growth of some of the younger players sparked Wharton down the stretch, as it won eight of its last 10 regular season games to hit the playoffs on a high.
“These were all really good players that are smart and have a great work ethic,” Markle said. “I just had to create the plan. They were going to get after it and make it happen.”
The ‘Cats had to grind through the regional playoffs, dropping the first game of the best-of-three series it played against Plant and Sickles.
The offense lit up the Panthers for 17 runs in its two victories, led by junior Chase Anello (five hits, six RBIs), while Wharton pitchers Daniel Duno and Connor Evans held a potent Gryphons’ lineup to just a pair of runs to claim the region title.
Earning its first-ever trip to Fort Myers and the state final four, early-game jitters allowed Gainesville Buchholz to jump out to a three-run lead. Although leadoff batter Cobb (single and walk), designated hitter Chase Andress (double), and junior Jarius Morris (base hit) produced the offense and Duno silenced the Buchholz’ bats, the ‘Cats couldn’t muster the key hit to climb back into contention.
The loss did little to dampen Markle’s pride after a successful season.
“It has definitely taken over as my biggest accomplishment and what I am most proud of,” he said. “I was lucky to win a state title in 2019 as an assistant (with Calvary) and a Draft League championship this last summer in my hometown but going through ‘The Run’ with these guys and seeing them create the year they wanted so bad was my biggest win yet.
“To go from completely unknown to the state final four together is something none of us will ever forget.”
Also empowering the program-best run was the inspiring story of Brody Turer, who battled two forms of cancer for almost a year to not only go into remission but to return to the mound in 2025.
“It was our identity,” Markle said. “It was the fuel to these kids’ fire watching him go through his fight.
“It was always a humble reminder for our team to put what we were doing in perspective. … When he came back on his goal date (March 4 against Middleton) and got three outs on the mound, it took our team to another level.”
So, getting back to the question of an encore, with such a strong core of talent graduating, will the Wildcats have what it takes to head south again next May?
The answer is an emphatic “yes” as Markle detailed.
The Wildcats will return pitchers Duno (the team leader in strikeouts this season), Andress (45 strikeouts in 37 innings, with five homeruns at the plate), and Evans, who had a 1.09 ERA.
Anello, a West Virginia commitment, will return behind the plate after hitting six homers and driving in 34 runs.
A bevy of infielders who received experience this season are expected back, as well a group of outfielders who will have big shoes to fill.
“We will be more prepared for next season which will be nice for everyone,” Markle said. “Wharton baseball is ready to prepare players for college baseball and compete for a state championship year in and year out.”