For fans of quality high school baseball in Southwest Florida – and any pro scouts worth their paychecks – the place to be next week will be Terry Park for the District 4A-11 Tournament.

Eight teams will go at it on four fields all at the same time. A tough assignment for someone wanting to see all the games, but it’s an even tougher assignment for several of the teams as well.

“I don’t know many districts in the state that can say they have three or four teams that deserve to be in the state playoffs like we (4A-11) do,” said Mariner coach Steve Larsen.

Add to that the fact that Ida Baker has been playing well in recent weeks and South Fort Myers has dominant pitcher Hudson Boyd back at full strength.

In his last two starts, Boyd no-hit Cape Coral in an 11-0 win and shut out Cypress Lake 7-0 on two hits.

“Baseball is such a singular game,” said Larsen. “A two-seed should be dominant in all aspects over a seven-seed. We might be dominant in fielding and hitting categories, but against a pitcher like Boyd on the mound?”

The second-seeded Tritons (21-4) likely will face Boyd when they open the tournament at 7 p.m. Monday against the seventh-seeded Wolfpack (10-13).

“We played hard all year to get to be a high seed and a tough draw is our reward,” said Larsen. “We should win, but we have to play as hard and as prepared as we can in the first game. Everyone knows you don’t play Wednesday if you don’t win Monday.”

That has not been a problem for the Tritons in the past. In his 14th year as coach, Larsen’s teams have never lost in the first round of the district tournament.

“As coach, I will give it every effort to win our first game,” he said. “It could take a multiple pitching effort.”

From the beginning of the season, it has been apparent that Estero, Fort Myers, Cypress Lake and Mariner were the class of the district.

“They are all playoff quality teams for the state tournament,” Larsen said. “Baker (12-13) and Riverdale (18-4) will be a dogfight. Estero (19-4) is so superior to Lemon Bay (6-16), they are the team I see with the least chance.”

Baker coach Ryan Jackson agrees.

“I think this is the toughest district in the state,” he said. “It can be a battle and will be fun to watch … Mariner, Riverdale, Cypress Lake, Fort Myers all have a solid lineup. The first-round pitching will be strong.”

Jackson said he is prepared to use everyone against Riverdale if he has to. Pitching has been a strength all season, but the Bulldogs need to put together some timely hits while the pitching and defense comes up with some big outs.

“We’ll have a good week of practice,” said Jackson. “Our mindset is always the same – we have to bring our ‘A’ game. We’ve learned from our games this year and I’m proud of the adjustments we’ve made at the plate.”

Monday’s matchups are: (1) Estero vs. (8) Lemon Bay; (2) Mariner vs. (7) South Fort Myers; (3) Riverdale vs. (6) Ida Baker; and (4) Cypress Lake vs. (5) Fort Myers (17-7). All start at 7 p.m.

The winners return Wednesday for the semifinals with the championship game on Friday.

District 3A-12 at Island Coast: Tournament host Island Coast goes gunning for its first district championship perfectly positioned to make the regional playoff round for the first time in school history as well.

Only the third-seeded LaBelle Cowboys (12-6) stand between the second-seeded Gators (15-9) and an automatic regional appearance.

“The semifinal game is the most important one because we want to get in the playoffs,” Gators coach Clinton Montgomery said of his first opponent Wednesday. “Every pitcher will be available. I am confident going in, anything can happen, but we should win.”

Confidence is one thing, but Montgomery also has a secret weapon in junior pitcher Kyle Harding, who was named the co-Region 3A Player of the Year with Dan Vogelbach of Bishop Verot.

Make that a not-so-secret weapon any more.

Harding, used almost exclusively in a relief role, carries a 4-0 record (all in relief) with two saves, a 1.89 ERA with 23 strikeouts in 29 2/3 innings. He’s also batting .455 (just 11 at-bats) with four RBI and two game-winning hits.

“I can bring him in in the second inning and he can go four innings, or he will come in in the sixth and give you all he has for one inning,” said Montgomery. “He’s usually the first reliever I bring in.”

It wasn’t long ago that Harding was ready to give up baseball.

An all-star in Little League, Harding tried out for the baseball team at Ida Baker as a freshman. He was cut, told he was not ready for high school ball.

His father, Brett Harding, said Kyle was stunned and so down on baseball for a while that he almost gave it up.

“He was a bit behind the curve because he also was playing basketball,” Brett Harding admitted. “He told me he just didn’t feel like a ball player any more.”

Three months after being cut by Baker, he was encouraged to try out for Island Coast’s summer team with a friend. He made that team, transferred schools for his sophomore year and slowly emerged from his shell under Montgomery’s guidance.

“He’s a self-motivating kid,” said Montgomery. “I am there for him whenever he needs me, but he wants to get better and has worked with Casey Coleman (former Mariner and FGCU player and Harding’s neighbor now in the Chicago Cubs minor league system).”

He could figure prominently in the Gators’ first outing against LaBelle … and beyond.

Fifth-seeded Dunbar (2-16) goes against fourth-seeded Gateway Charter (3-15) in the first district game at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The winner advances to Wednesday’s other semifinal match against top-seeded Bishop Verot (16-8).

The championship game is at 7 p.m. on Friday.