First Coast Varsity Weekly: Ballpark no-no latest feat from Sandalwood's Cooper Whited

A no-hit win for a Jacksonville baseball team, in the downtown professional ballpark. Northeast Florida fans have waited a long time for that combination.

Sandalwood senior Cooper Whited ended that wait — in a high school game.

Demonstrating his electric arm at the home of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, Whited pitched the best game of an excellent high school career with Wednesday's no-hitter in the Saints' 2-0 shutout of rival Fletcher.

Whited, committed to Gulf Coast State College, struck out nine and walked only two batters in a rematch of the 2022 Gateway Conference championship. The game was part of a week-long showcase for area high school teams at 121 Financial Ballpark.

The no-no continues an excellent start for the Saints (5-2) and for Whited, who is now 2-0 with an 0.93 ERA, 20 strikeouts and three hits allowed all season. He's also batting .444 with four doubles, a triple and a 1.302 OPS.

For a ballpark that holds 75 Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp ballgames per year, a no-hitter at 121 Financial Ballpark is a surprisingly rare sight.

The last minor league no-hitter at the park occurred on June 14, 2018, when Jackson Generals pitchers Justin Donatella, Daniel Gibson, Kirby Bellow, Kevin Ginkel and Brad Goldberg combined to beat the Jumbo Shrimp 6-0. Other than rain-shortened games, the last no-hitter win for Jacksonville came in the Southern League playoffs on Sept. 8, 2005, a combined no-no from Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Broxton.

And for a complete game no-hitter of seven innings or more by a Jacksonville team at home, it's an even longer trip back in time. That goes back to Kevin Mobley's no-hitter for the Jacksonville Suns against the Tennessee Smokies, 1-0, in the second game of a doubleheader at the old Wolfson Park on Aug. 3, 2000.

Whited's no-no wasn't the only standout performance from a week of action at the ballpark. On Tuesday, University Christian's Austin Pickett pitched to only the minimum number of batters in a 1-0 win over Atlantic Coast. The leadoff batter singled but was immediately caught stealing, and Pickett retired the remaining Stingrays in order.

St. Johns Country Day senior Taliah Scott wins Gatorade Player of the Year

Sharks chomp past Virginia school

The Mid-Atlantic may be the nation's traditional lacrosse hotbed, but Ponte Vedra carried the flag high for the Sunshine State.

Making the trip up the Atlantic coastline, the Sharks' boys squad earned a 16-14 victory on Friday against St. Stephen's and St. Agnes of Virginia.

Maddox Johnson led the attack with eight goals, while Corey Bloss and Canon Hauseman scored three each, Lad Harper won 20 of 31 faceoffs and goalie Jack Pelot stopped 20 shots.

Ponte Vedra went 1-1 on its trip, losing 14-2 on Sunday in light snow to nationally-ranked Potomac (Md.) Bullis. The Sharks' slate of multi-state opposition includes schools from South Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania still to come.

Coachman, Lewis lead Clay County hoops

After a one-loss regular season and a visit to the Florida High School Athletic Association regional semifinals, Oakleaf led the honors in Clay County's annual all-county boys basketball selection, as voted by area coaches.

Center Cameron Coachman, who earned a spot on the national leaderboard with 126 blocks this season, and senior guard Dylan Lewis earned first-team berths for the 24-2 Knights.

Joining them on the first team were Clay's J'Den Golding, Fleming Island's Axel Holmquist, Orange Park's Thomas Faucett and Ridgeview's Kole Whitaker.

Second-team choices were Clay's Xavier Longmire, Fleming Island's Ethan Williams, Keystone Heights' Seth Gagnon, Middleburg's Aidan Farber, Orange Park's Archieve Triggs III and Ridgeview's Calen Wiggins.

Singletary selects Razorbacks

Former Riverside cornerback Jaheim Singletary is taking his five-star talents across the SEC, transferring from Georgia to Arkansas.

Singletary, the Times-Union's All-First Coast defensive player of the year in 2021, transferred after one season at Football Bowl Subdivision champion Georgia. He appeared in three games as a true freshman.

He intercepted 14 passes during four seasons at Riverside, which was still known as Lee when he enrolled.

Arkansas previously added another Northeast Florida transfer over the winter when former Suwannee offensive lineman Joshua Braun transferred from Florida.

Frechette hits 400-point milestone

Welcome to the 400-point club for Ryann Frechette.

After only two-plus years of high school girls lacrosse, the Bartram Trail junior attacker reached the milestone last week in Friday's 21-11 victory against Oviedo. The Bears (8-1), ranked seventh in the South by USA Lacrosse Magazine, also defeated Creekside 18-7 during the week.

The Florida-committed Frechette has scored 278 goals and 124 assists, despite an ACL injury that cut short her freshman season. With 63 goals and 19 assists this season, she ranks fourth in scoring in the 2023 national MaxPreps list, although many states begin play later than Florida.

She's also kept up her scoring pace in spite of other challenges this year, including injuries to teammates and an FHSAA appeal over a potential Name, Image and Likeness contract with Maryland-based equipment manufacturer STX. The FHSAA board of directors ultimately denied that appeal last month, ruling that Frechette may not sign the NIL deal under the association's bylaws.

Frechette still has a long way to go to challenge the state and national record, though. Caitlyn Wurzburger, now a senior at North Carolina, scored 1,027 points (503 goals, 524 assists) at Delray Beach American Heritage from 2014-19, although Wurzburger's record was compiled over six years and is not certified by the National Federation of State High School Associations record books.

Maddox pacing Golden Eagles flag squad

Two decades of football at Fleming Island have produced plenty of stars. Add MyKayla Maddox to that list — but this time, it's flag football.

Already a state semifinalist in 2022, the senior has led the Golden Eagles to a 4-0 start that's sparking early hopes of a return trip to the FHSAA tournament in May.

Maddox delivered one of the performances of the season in Thursday's 32-0 win over previously-unbeaten White. She rushed for 88 yards and four touchdowns, and threw for 145 yards and a fifth score.

That effort came after a similarly dominant outing in a 40-0 rout of Mandarin: 71 rushing yards (two touchdowns), 133 passing yards (four touchdowns) and two interceptions on defense.

Despite outscoring opponents 111-0 this year, the Golden Eagles don't own Northeast Florida's highest point differentials. Paxon (5-0) has rolled over its foes by a combined 234-12, and Stanton (5-0) has rolled up 155 points while allowing none.

Also worth watching: Bradford. Winner of only four games in 2022, the young Tornadoes have whirled to a 6-0 start. Sophomore Nichelle Brown is up to 20 touchdowns on the year, while freshman Arnaysia Griffin has passed for 995 yards and rushed for 486 with 14 offensive touchdowns.

After audible, Riles heads for ECU

University Christian edge rusher Desirrio Riles committed Monday to East Carolina, six weeks after signing with Indiana on National Signing Day. He announced his move on Twitter.

Riles, who played quarterback, tight end and edge rusher at different stages of his four-year career at UC, is planning to line up at tight end for the Pirates. As reported first by 247Sports, he received his release from his letter of intent with Indiana after his February signing.

At East Carolina, he would join Creekside graduate Shane Calhoun at the tight end position. Riles caught 17 passes for 280 yards and four touchdowns this year, after shifting from quarterback upon the emergence of sophomore Dwayne Stuckey.

Around the area

Baldwin receiver King Grant signed with Webber International football. … Episcopal running back Calvin Jasey committed to St. Mary-of-the-Woods football. … Stanton shortstop Cole Durham committed to Tallahassee Community College baseball. … White named Derrick Scott as its new boys basketball head coach. … Former First Coast pitcher Justin Lawrence collected the save in Panama's 12-5 win over Taiwan, the nation's first-ever victory at the World Baseball Classic. … Bartram Trail freshman Ava Myers cleared 10 feet, 6 inches at the Lake Highland Invitational to tie the school record in the girls pole vault. … Kolbe Sexton broke Bishop Kenny's school clean-and-jerk record for the 219-pound division in boys weightlifting, lifting 315 pounds. … Bishop Kenny's Ka'Myya Haywood ran 2:09.92 to place seventh in the girls 800 at the New Balance Indoor Nationals in Boston. … Ribault took the top spot in both boys and girls team standings at the Coach Mac & Brown Saints Open. ... The Florida Athletic Coaches Association holds its boys and girls basketball All-Star Classic events at Southeastern University in Lakeland on Friday and Saturday. ... Northeast Florida's traditional all-star game for soccer is scheduled for March 26 at Patton Park. … The FHSAA's Section 1 student athlete leadership seminar is scheduled for July 20 at Pine Forest High School in Pensacola.

Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: First Coast Varsity Weekly: Sandalwood's Cooper Whited pitches no-hitter