Baisley not pleased with Gators' play

DADE CITY -- Land O'Lakes coach Calvin Baisley knew graduation had depleted his lineup, but going from five losses all season to four losses in the first seven games hasn't been a pleasant transition for the 17th-year coach. "We're just not very good," Baisley said after a 7-4 loss to Pasco on Tuesday night. "I'm at a loss. We're struggling hitting, struggling with fielding, struggling with pitching. That pretty much covers it."

The Gators' most consistent problems have been at the plate, where they were shut out in a 3-0 loss to Springstead and held in check in a 2-1 loss to Ridgewood. They entered the last inning Tuesday with two singles and one run against Pasco's Chris Nyman, who didn't allow the Gators to put a ball in play until the fourth inning, getting nine of the first 10 batters on strikeouts.

Baisley's lineup isn't particularly young, with mostly seniors and a few juniors, but many are in their first year in the starting lineup, or adjusting to new positions. Baisley was frustrated by a play during Pasco's six-run first inning when shortstop Greg Rosenthal, who played at second base last year, fielded a ground ball with runners at first and second and no outs and settled for getting the lead runner at third.

"That's Little League," Baisley said. "You're supposed to be able to turn that double play. The kid's a good hitter, but you make a good pitch, you've got to bail him out there."

Land O'Lakes is only two losses behind conference leader Ridgewood, but having lost their first meetings with the Rams and Pirates, the Gators have ground to make up. A chance to turn things around could come as early as Friday against Hudson, off to a 7-3 start.

"We've got a long way to go," Baisley said. "We're struggling and not hitting the ball well, so our confidence isn't real high."

Good news for the Gators: Tonight's game at Central ends a six-game road trip, and starting with Hudson, they're at home for six straight before traveling to Dunedin for an Easter tournament.

TOUGH START: Wesley Chapel has dropped five straight to fall to 1-8, its lone win coming against Springstead. Coach Steve Mumaw has been pleased with the progress of sophomore Kevin Holmes, among the team leaders offensively and a promising pitcher.

"He's had some tough luck -- he's 0-3, but we're really encouraged by the way he's throwing the ball," said Mumaw, who used Holmes sparingly on the varsity as a freshman. "He's going to continue to get better, and by the time he's older, he'll really be something."

Third baseman Tommy Young will miss about two weeks after spraining his ankle in physical education class this week, taking one of Wesley Chapel's top bats out of the lineup. The Wildcats, 0-1 in district play, play host to 3A-10 rival Bartow tonight.

DUGOUT CHATTER: There's no shortage of dominating pitchers on the west side of the county -- Ridgewood's Ronnie Lowe took a 0.00 ERA into his fifth start of the season, with 36 strikeouts in 18.1 innings pitched. Hudson junior Bryan Strawser is off to a 4-0 start and took a shutout into the seventh in a win against Gulf on Tuesday, and not far behind is Mitchell's Tyler Clippard, who had a 0.88 ERA and two wins in his first three starts. ... Much of the early season is about finding lineups that work from top to bottom, which isn't always an easy task. In Gulf's 2-3 start, only four players -- Mike Stanzione, Dan Proctor, Sal Torre and Sean Collins -- had hits, with the rest of the team going 0-for-57.

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