Baseball standout earns honor
Baker Lutz News | by Kevin Weiss | June 1, 2021
Wharton High senior baseball standout Zach Ehrhard was honored with the 2021 Wade Boggs Athletic Achievement Award, by the Hillsborough County Commission at its May 19 meeting.
The Wade Boggs Athletic Achievement Award honors a high school baseball player or a team in Hillsborough County on the basis of outstanding athletic, scholastic and community achievements.
The annual award is named in honor of Baseball Hall of Fame member and 12-time All-Star Wade Boggs, who has been a resident of the Tampa Bay area since he was a boy. He played for the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees before finishing his career back at home with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He is a Plant High School graduate, a Wharton High School coach, and a resident of Hillsborough County.
Ehrhard, who hit .438 this season, lettered in varsity baseball for the fourth straight year and has been a starter since the first game of his freshman year.
A shortstop, pitcher and team captain, Ehrhard finished with a .407 career batting average, with over 40 stolen bases — 26 this season alone.
The Oklahoma State University baseball signee also got it done in the classroom. He has a cumulative grade point average of 5.9, was named Wharton’s male scholar-athlete recipient and is a National Honor Society member.
In the community, Ehrhard donated his time to numerous causes, including Relay for Life, Students Against Destructive Decisions, and WinterFest, an event for needy children.
Baseball talent runs in the Ehrhard family. Ehrhard’s older brother, Drew, was a recipient of the prestigious award in 2017 and went on to play baseball at the University of Tampa.
Honorable mentions for the Wade Boggs Achievement Award went to Riverview High’s Kipp Kochera and Alonso High’s Zen Hiatt. An award was not given last year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Image: Wharton High senior baseball standout Zach Ehrhard, left, won the 2021 Wade Boggs Athletic Achievement Award on the basis of athletic, scholastic and community achievements. Also pictured is Boggs, middle, and Ehrhard’s older brother, Drew, who also won the award in 2017. (Courtesy of Hillsborough County)
