Athlete of the Week: Shane Shifflett

Sarasota Christian School eighth-grader Shane Shifflett went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a triple, three RBIs, a run scored and an intentional walk to lead the Blazers to a 6-5 victory over Canterbury School of Florida in the Class 2A-Region 2 semifinals May 7.

Shane, who turned 15 years old May 14, finished the season with a .541 batting average, 40 hits and 41 RBIs to help lead the Blazers to a 28-2 record.

"This season meant a lot. It was one of the only times that I’ll (probably) have a chance to make it that far. I was happy, and the seniors and coach Lee were happy about it. That was one of the reasons why we wanted to make it to states.

I knew there were times when it was going to come down to me to get the hits that we needed. We have a batting cage at my house, so I practiced a lot.

I always used to play shortstop when I was younger and I was pretty good at it. Now I catch, play center field and play pretty much anywhere in the infield except first base.

I started playing baseball when I was 6 years old. I saw my older brother playing, and it looked like fun. I grabbed a bat and my dad put me into baseball.

I would rather be batting than in the field. I always love to hit the ball and find the pitches to get the runs in."