Mulberry coach David Gotauco knew what kind of 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 kind of just went to the tee and started hitting, and I heard crack, crack,” Gotauco recalled. “What? So I turn around, and I see him hit. And I said (to my assistant coach that brought Partridge to the team), 'Put him in the three hole in the batting order.'
"And it it’s been all love ever since.”
Partridge more than lived up to the promise. By the time he got to high school, he was one of the top 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 All-Polk County team for softball
“Throughout the years, I just knew he would be special,” Gotauco said. “He steps up in the biggest moments. When he was up, game on the line, that's the guy you want up. He's just real pure, and he’s a good young man.”
Partridge, who also plays basketball, was a baseball player of the year candidate during his first two seasons when he hit .466 with 10 extra-base hits as a freshman and .381 as a sophom*ore with 18 extra-base hits.
Joining Mulberry this season, he was even better. He batted .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 opposing teams did not want to face him, especially with runners on base. Partridge walked 31 times and struck out just six times all season.
Partridge, who also was the Dairy Farmers Class 4A player of the year and was a finalist for Mr. Baseball, knew he had to be patient.
“Normally I don't see any fastballs during the game,” he said. “So I'll have that mindset if I get it, I'm going hit it.”
With his father, Dominick, having played minor league ball, it was natural that Partridge began playing baseball at a young age and developed a love of just playing the game.
“I’ve always been decent, not the greatest, but as time went on, going up the ranks, everybody would just notice as I got older how good I was,” Partridge said. “When I was younger, everybody was like, 'Oh, he's good,' but it wasn't an important thing.”
Partridge’s talent was the linchpin of 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're all close, we're all family. The other kids I didn't know, I made friends with them really, really fast. They were cool, really nice. They accepted me pretty quick, so that was really nice.”
The way Partridge carries himself helped the team come together.
“Kids like to paint pictures, and they hear Nick Partridge is coming over to Mulberry, so they kind of got their guard up a little because they hear and they see he had an outstanding year the last couple of years, right?” Gotauco said. “He's a great player, so they're a little bit nervous, they don't know what to expect, and a couple of the guys said, 'I just can't believe how humble, he is.' They loved him.
"They gravitated to him right away. From the beginning, he definitely made a difference in bringing the team together because his presence was just always positive. He’s a good teammate. He wants his team to excel.”
Partridge certainly did his part to make sure the Mulberry didn’t have a letdown in regionals after they were upset in the district semifinals.
With their ranking good enough to make the playoffs, Mulberry won three games on the road in the regional, 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 a considered a prospect for next year’s Major League draft.
“It’s definitely a big goal for me,” he said of being drafted. “Either in college or (out of high school),it's definitely going to be one of my goals.”
All-Polk County Baseball 2024
Player of the Year
Nic Partridge
Mulberry, Junior, Shortstop
Partridge has been one of the top players in the county since his freshman season at Lakeland. Playing for Mulberry in 2024, he was the Dairy Farmers Class 4A player of the year and batted .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, Senior, 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, Senior, 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.
K.J. Scobey
McKeel, Senior, Shortstop
.395 BA, 5 HR, 34 RBI, 22 Runs, 23 Walks, 13 SB.
Gavin Byrd
Lakeland Christian, Sophom*ore, Shortstop
.427 BA, 7 HR, 39 RBI.
Danny Hernandez
Lakeland, Senior, Shortstop
.455 BA, 1 HR, 17 RBI.
Easton Beach
Santa Fe Catholic, Junior, Shortstop
.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, Senior, 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
Josh Brewer: 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, Sophom*ore, 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, IF 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, OF Demarion Abrams.
Frostproof: 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 City: OF Diego Sickenga Perez.
Kathleen: IF/OF Edrick Ayala.
Lake Gibson: Landon Cuzzone, IF Gavin Bryant, OF Dayshun Harrell, Dalton Cone.
Lake Region: 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, OF Ayden Wheelis, OF Yadiel Echeverria
Lake 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, P P/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 Haven: Anthony Sandoval, Gage McCrystal, Mason Resmo
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Mulberry's Nic Partridge named Polk County baseball player of the year
