TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Florida High baseball team lost in the regional quarterfinals of the state playoffs Wednesday night, and in turn, senior Boone Hosey's career as a Seminole is over, but the mark he's left on a program that means so much to him, is a big one.
To see where the Florida High baseball team gets their spark, look no further, than Hosey.
"You can't substitute senior leadership on your ball club, year in and year out," said head coach John Hollenbeck.
The stats back it up. Hosey leads the Seminoles at the plate, batting .452 on the season, and he also gets it done defensively, even on the mound.
"I've been doing that since my freshman year," said Hosey. "That's what they've asked me to do every year. I enjoy the pressure, I don't run away from it. I enjoy doing it."
"Everyday he comes out here and he works hard," added Hollenbeck. "We have very few guys that work harder than Boone. It's a tribute to his leadership."
Leadership perfected since joining Florida High program in the sixth grade.
"I've made a lot of mistakes, especially playing young. That definitely helped me accept failure as a person and in the game."
They are struggles that have turned into success. Hosey will play for Tallahassee Community College, and he's done it all while balancing a 4.45 GPA.
"Grades come first before baseball," he said. "Going to travel ball tournaments, reading books, my mom preached it since I was young."
"He's out here at practice tutoring the younger guys, trying to help them with their fundamentals," said Hollenbeck. "They look up to him."
A leader and a mentor, a guy who's been there and done that for Florida High.
"Being around young guys, and somebody they look up to, it keeps you in check," he said. "It's really special to go here, because the little guys, they look up to you."
A guy to look up to, and get the Seminoles, where they want to be. Hosey said he will pursue a degree in construction management, with the goal of owning his own construction company one day.
