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Pirates know how to score
By STEVE LEE, Times Staff Writer DADE CITY -- Pasco has the dink-and-dunk down to a science. The Pirates did not get a ball out of the infield in Tuesday's 8-1 Class 3A, Region 3 quarterfinal win over Tampa Catholic. But, pointed out assistant coach Lisa Herndon, they did have 13 hits. "They were putting the ball down and beating it out," Herndon said. "We kept laying the bunt down." Only once did a Pasco player get on against the Crusaders on a ball hit beyond the infield. Brittney McCarty doubled to centerfield in the top of the third inning. LaBelle, Pasco's foe in tonight's regional quarterfinal, can expect more of the same. Especially, Herndon said, if the infielders on the corners do not cheat in to take the bunt away. LaBelle assistant coach John Miller probably will be quick to recognize that strategy since the Cowgirls have resorted to similar tactics in an 18-7 season that includes a 7-1 regional quarterfinal win over Avon Park. Extra-base hits are few for LaBelle's top hitters, including St. Petersburg College signees catcher Niki Nixon and centerfielder Berniece Graham. Nixon is hitting .452 and Graham .425. "They get on base," Miller said. So too does Laura Atun, a left-handed pitcher who averages just above .400. Atun (11-3) will start tonight for the Cowgirls. Miller said rightfielder Danna Burchard (10-4 last season) was to be the team's ace, but knee injuries led to Atun taking over on the mound. Atun, a junior, who Miller said was easily frustrated last year, "settled down. This year, she's finally grown into the role and is mentally prepared." Pasco pitcher Christina Harris is equally prepared. Harris has started 25 of 27 games and is coming off a three-hitter against a district champ (TC won the 3A-9 title). Herndon is not surprised the Pirates defeated a district champion. Most of Pasco's players, she reasoned, are used to winning. In fact, Heather Stroud, Tiffany Parker, Jessica Sanchez, Ashley Farmer and Herndon's daughter, Amy, played on the Dade City All-Star team that won a district championship in 2000. "They think they're going to win some more games," Herndon said. "They were ready to play (against Tampa Catholic) and they're ready to play (tonight)." That readiness could lead to a fourth game this season against Bartow, the state's top-ranked 3A team. The Yellow Jackets beat the Pirates twice by 11-0 scores before a 7-2 win in the 3A-10 title game. "We're going one game at a time," Herndon said, "but these girls don't want to quit playing. "They want to play Bartow again and they think they might beat them."
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