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Bloomingdale, Riverview must depend on pitching

BRANDON -- Although Riverview is seeded No. 1 and Bloomingdale No. 2 in the Class 6A, District 5 tournament scheduled to start today at Sarasota, they might not finish in that order.

Four other teams in the district -- No. 3 Sarasota, No. 4 Venice, No. 5 Sarasota Riverview and No. 6 Gaither -- will not be pushovers.

As the postseason begins, several local teams have the talent to make it to the final four. In the playoffs, however, anything can happen and it usually does.

"We beat Sarasota, Venice, Sarasota Riverview and Gaither twice in the regular season, but Bloomingdale beat us twice," Sharks coach Angie Slater said. "Gaither came close with us, as did Sarasota, and Bloomingdale lost to both Venice and Sarasota Riverview. This will be a tough district, but I am glad we got top seed and a bye."

Bloomingdale also got a bye as the second seed, so neither county team will play until the semifinals. A loss by either and the season is over. A win by either moves it into the final and secures a berth in the regional playoffs.

Gaither plays Sarasota at 7:30 tonight with the Bulls playing the winner at the same time Tuesday. Riverview plays the Sarasota Riverview-Venice winner in the other semifinal set to start at 4:30 on Tuesday.

Before taking a 12-1 beating by Tampa Bay Tech April 15 in the Western Conference semifinals, the Bulls were riding an 11-game winning streak and were ranked first in the state in Class 6A. Because of a young defense and weak hitting, the Bulls have been riding the arm of senior ace Stacey Bronson for the better part of two seasons.

Many of their losses have been by one or two runs, usually because of defensive errors in the closing innings or because of a lack of offense.

Bloomingdale will have to get a great game from Bronson, hit from top to bottom in its lineup and get consistent defense to make it to the final.

Last year, the Bulls got a great season from Bronson, but were eliminated by Gaither in the first game at districts.

"We had a very good practice after the whipping from TBT and the girls talked it over and came out with a good attitude about each other," Bloomingdale coach Mike Claman said. "They know a loss in their first game and the season is over. This district is strong top to bottom and at this point, it is up to them to do what has to be done."

If all six teams play their best defense, the results will come down to the performance of the pitchers, and Riverview's Beth DiPietro and Bronson probably have the advantage. Although still a junior, DiPietro might be the most consistent pitcher in the county.

"If it comes down to a slugfest in any game, we probably won't come out on top, but I will take my chances with Beth pitching over any of the teams there," Slater said. "Stacey is right up there too and the pitchers on the other four teams are good, but not in the same class with Beth and Stacey. If our pitching is off, then Sarasota has the hitting and consistent defense."

The Sharks have Kaycie Maines and Kim Tarre hitting over .300, plus Kelly Helms, Megan Manso and DiPietro are averaging close to .300.

"We will count on Beth," Slater said. "If she is on, we will be in the ballgame and if she is not, we won't be."

Claman agrees pitching will be the key. He also agrees that Bronson and DiPietro are the class of the aces for the district.

Riverview and Bloomingdale enter Tuesday's games 22-5.

DiPietro leads the county in strikeouts with 325. She also has an 18-4 record, including the two losses to the Bulls, and an ERA of 0.46.

Before the defeat by TBT, Bronson had the county's lowest ERA at 0.06, but she gave up five earned runs to the Titans. She too can throw strikeouts and has 220 this season.

Courtney Raney is the only consistent hitter for the Bulls and she can scare opposing pitchers. She carries a .434 batting average into the districts.

Riverview lost nearly all its starters to graduation last year. Bloomingdale has almost everyone back, but the Sharks defense is more consistent.

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