Jul. 8—Royce Florenzano’s high school journey through baseball has been filled with friends, family, and mountains of memories.
“I really enjoyed it. I had a great time spending my last spring season with all my friends,” he said. “Just being able to go out, have fun, and play baseball.”
The Crowder graduate ended his last high school season in major fashion, earning a 1.892 ERA with 71 strikeouts thrown on the mound while swinging a .543 batting average, a .689 on-base percentage, 14 home runs, 52 RBIs, and scored 48 runs on the way to being named the 2023 McAlester News-Capital All-Area Spring Baseball Player of the Year.
Florenzano loves baseball for both the camaraderie and competition, and was happy to be able to accomplish everything he did with his team for one final time.
The Demons rocketed out to a hot start in March and never looked back. They racked up 22 wins, including an historic fourth-consecutive Pitt 8 Tournament title and an Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association Class B State Tournament quarterfinal appearance.
For his efforts, Florenzano also earned honors as the 2023 Pitt 8 Conference Spring Baseball All-Conference Most Valuable Player and as a Southeast Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association All Star, as well as All-State honors from both the Oklahoma Baseball Coaches Association and the Oklahoma Native All-State Association — representing as a member of the Choctaw Nation.
Florenzano said he wasn’t initially quite ready for that part of his journey to be over, but is looking forward to what his future has in store.
“At first it didn’t feel any different, but it kind of caught up to me,” he said. “But as they say, ‘all good things must come to an end.'”
Although he’s closed the book on high school, he’s beginning a new journey as he’s signed to attend Seminole State College to play baseball with the Trojans. He’s been spending his summer working on his craft, playing baseball on the weekends, and preparing to take himself to the next level.
“I’m just playing, keeping myself in shape, and trying to improve as much as I can before I go (to college),” he said. “Right now, I want to try and get better to compete — at least get me a starting position.”
But taking one final look at his time in as a Demon, Florenzano said he was grateful for the journey. He’s learned a lot about baseball and himself, and that’s something that he’ll always be able to take with him.
“It’s been really good. I mean, it’s had its ups and downs,” he said of his career. “But I really enjoyed it. I had a great time, and glad I spent it at Crowder with all my friends and the great coaching staff as well.”