Mulberry’s Nic Partridge was named Polk County Baseball Player of the Year

Mulberry coach David Gotauco knew what a talent Nic Partridge was. Not when he saw him swing a bat, but rather when he heard Partridge swing a bat after joining his travel ball team as a 10-year-old.

“Nic just went to the tee and started hitting, and I heard crack, crack,” Gotauco recalled. “What? So I turn around and I see he’s getting hit. And I said (to my assistant coach who brought Partridge to the team), ‘Put him in the three hole in the batting order.’

“And it’s been all love ever since.”

Partridge has more than delivered on the promise. By the time he entered high school, he was one of the best players in the county even as a freshman. After two years at Lakeland, he rejoined Gotauco at Mulberry this spring, and his bat helped lead the Panthers to the state tournament for the first time since 1960.

Partridge is The Ledger’s 2024 Baseball Player of the Year.

Softball’s best: Meet the player of the year and the All-Polk County team for softball

“Over the years, I just knew he would be special,” Gotauco said. “He performs in the biggest moments. When he was awake, the game was on the line, that’s the man you want. He’s just very pure, and he’s a good young man.

Partridge, who also plays basketball, was a candidate for baseball player of the year during his first two seasons when he hit .466 with 10 extra-base hits as a freshman and .381 as a sophomore with 18 extra-base hits.

When he joined Mulberry this season he was even better. He hit .457 with five doubles, one triple, a career-high seven home runs, 27 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He was second behind Hayden Wyatt (29) in RBIs as opponents didn’t want to face him, especially with runners on base. Partridge walked 31 times all season and struck out just six times.

Partridge, who was also the Dairy Farmers Class 4A Player of the Year and a finalist for Mr. Baseball, knew he had to be patient.

“Normally I don’t see fastballs during the game,” he said. “So I’ll have that mentality when I get it, I’m going to go there.”

Since his father, Dominick, played minor league ball, it made sense that Partridge started playing baseball at an early age and developed a love for playing the game.

“I’ve always been decent, not the best, but as time went on and I moved up the ranks, as I got older everyone noticed how good I was,” Partridge said. “When I was younger, everyone said, ‘Oh, he’s good,’ but that wasn’t important.”

Partridge’s talent was central to Mulberry’s success this season, but his ability to quickly blend in with his new teammates and develop strong team chemistry was also important.

“I knew the majority of them,” he said. “We all know each other from travel ball when we were younger. We are all close, we are all family. I didn’t know the other children, I made friends with them very quickly. They were cool, really nice. They accepted me pretty quickly, so that was really nice.”

The way Partridge carried himself helped the team come together.

“Children like to paint and they hear that Nick Partridge is coming to Mulberry so they’re a bit wary because they hear it and see he’s had an excellent year over the last few years, right?” Gotauco said. “He’s a great player, so they’re a little nervous, they don’t know what to expect, and a few guys said, ‘I just can’t believe how humble he is.’ They loved him.

“They were immediately attracted to him. From the beginning, he definitely made a difference in bringing the team together because his presence was always positive. He is a good teammate. He wants his team to excel.”

Partridge certainly played his part in ensuring the Mulberry did not suffer disappointment in the regionals after being upset in the district semi-finals.

With their ranking good enough to make the playoffs, Mulberry won three games on the road in regional play, and Partridge went 4-for-6 with six runs scored. Partridge also went 2-for-3 and scored a run in a 3-2 loss to Cardinal Gibbons in the state semifinals.

Partridge, who said he wants to improve his defense at shortstop, has committed to the University of Florida but is also considered a candidate for next year’s Major League draft.

“It’s definitely a big goal for me,” he said of his call-up. “Whether it’s in college or (after high school), it will definitely be one of my goals.”

Polk County Baseball 2024

Player of the Year

Nic Partridge

Mulberry, junior, Short stop

Partridge has been one of the best players in the county since his freshman season at Lakeland. He played for Mulberry in 2024 and was the Dairy Farmers Class 4A player of the year, hitting .457 with five doubles, one triple, seven home runs, 27 RBIs and 40 runs scored.

Coach of the Year

David Gotauco

Mulberry

After two seasons at All Saints, Gotauco, a former minor league baseball player, led the Panthers to a regional title and to the state tournament for the first time in 64 years.

FIRST TEAM

Caleb Clanton

McKeel, Junior, Pitcher

10-2, 0.59 ERA, 82 IP, 77 K, 11 BB.

Carson Montsdeoca

Fort Meade, Sr, Pitcher/third base

.352 BA, 7 2B, 4 HR, 19 RBI, 34 R; 1.85 ERA, 64.1 IP, 115 K, 11 BB.

Gavin Stedman

Santa Fe Catholic, junior, Pitcher/OF

10-1, 1.71 ERA, 65 IP, 107 K, .333 BA, 28 R, 22 RBI, 11 SB.

Carson Martin

Lakeland Christian, junior, Pitcher

8-3, 2.23 ERA, 74 K, 36 BB.

Gage Chandley

Lake Wales, Sr, Pitcher

4-3, 1.19 ERA, 86 K, 53 IP.

Dan Colon

Lakeland Christian, junior, First base

.427 BA, 4 3B, 2 HR, 29 RBI.

KJ Scobey

McKeel, Sr, Short stop

.395 BA, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 22 runs, 23 walks, 13 SB.

Gavin Byrd

Lakeland Christian, sophomore, shortstop

.427 BA, 7 HR, 39 RBI.

Danny Hernández

Lakeland, Sr, Short stop

.455 BA, 1 hour, 17 RBI.

Easton Beach

Santa Fe Catholic, junior, Short stop

.495 BA, 43 R, 8 2B, .556 OBP.

Marvin Montenegro

Santa Fe Catholic, junior, Catcher/third base

.468 BA, 7 2B, 4 3B, 3 HR, 34 R, 19 BB, 22 SB, .583 OBP.

Xavier Rivera

Lakeland, Sr, Catcher

.415 BA, 3 HR, 24 RBI.

Armani Cozza

George Jenkins, Junior, Outfield

.373 BA, .489 OBP, 6 2B, 2 3B, 13 RBI, 16 SB.

SECOND TEAM

Jose Garcia: Lakeland, Senior, Pitcher

Cooper Emery: Lakeland, Senior, Pitcher

Xavier Glover: George Jenkins, Senior, Pitcher

Noah Campbell: Mulberry, Senior, Pitcher

Braden Smith: George Jenkins, Junior, Pitcher

Mookie Rodriguez: Lakeland Christian, Junior, Catcher

Jos Brouwer: Frostproof, Senior, Infield

Colby Brewington: Lakeland Christian, Senior, Infield

AJ Sierra: Lakeland, Senior, Outfield

Kam Wilson: George Jenkins, Junior, Outfield

Brock Thielen: Mulberry, Junior, Outfield

Owen Harrell: Fort Meade, sophomore, utility

DJ Flores: Santa Fe, Junior, Utility

Joshua Cruz: Winter Haven, Senior, Infield

HONORABLE MENTION

Bartow: Jayden Floyd, Andrew Brooks, P Lance West.

Davenport: OF/P Shakoii Richards, ALS Yonathan Sanchez.

Discovery: P Anderson Jorge, IF/OF Hunter Benjamin, 1B/OF Jamor C Richardson, P/IF Zachary Wagle, IF/P Cameron Brown.

Fort Meade: P/1B 1B/P Jeremiah Cabrera, FROM Demarion Abrams.

Frost resistant: 1B Liam Howard, P/SS Luke Thortan, OF Nico Rybinski, Brayden Joyner, C Braylan Bronson, IF/P Ricky Wilson.

George Jenkins: P/OF Austin Dadey, OF/DH Seth Patterson, 1B Wilfredo Ortiz, P Justin Williams.

Haines Town: BY Diego Sickenga Perez.

Kathleen: IF/OR Edrick Ayala.

Gibson Lake: Landon Cuzzone, IF Gavin Bryant, OF Dayshun Harrell, Dalton Cone.

Lake area: SS/C Jah’Darius Richardson, P/SS/OF Alexander Trujillo, 2B/SS Jahiel Gomez, 1B/P Gage Calcutt, P/OF Koden Bechtel, P/3B Jordan Gonzalez, VAN Ayden Wheelis, VAN Yadiel Echeverria

More from Wales: IF Diego Colon, OF/SS Carter Finnell, OF/1B Roy Ortiz, P Levi Cutts, P Max Seidl, P Will Pilon.

Lakeland: P Chris Conde, P/1B Eli Miller, OF Ashton Vaughn, OF Maddox Hatcher, P Conner Faces, P Bryan Rivera, 2B JT Altman.

Lakeland Christian: P Peyton Rutledge, OF Trey Bentley, P Fin Donny, P Nathan Diaz, 3B Peyton Brenneman, OF Conor Brown, UT Daniel Herrera.

McKeel: P Kaden Howell, 2B Bear Testerman, OF Joseph Mills, P Austin Peddycoart, P Braxten Plemons.

Mulberry: Cooper Wright, Hayden Wyatt, P Alex Fisher, P JJ Sweeny, 2B Dominick Gotauco, 3B Van Hill, P Coby Anker.

Oasis: C/OF Trey Ayala, 3B/OF Chauncey Goldwire, OF/SS Landon Gall, PP/SS Gabriel Dutheil.

Ridge Community: OF Sebastian Ortiz, IF/OF Deniel Serrano, 1B/3B Yamil Martinez, SS Dylan Vazquez, C Omir Santos-Cruz.

Santa Fe Catholic: P Jacob Knisley, 2B/OF Michael Welling, OF Ethan Crawford, P Jameson McGuire, 2B Angel Andujar, OF Hudson Link.

Winter paradise: Anthony Sandoval, Gage McCrystal, Mason Resmo

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