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Crystal River cruises to final

Junior right-hander William Bunch throws a complete game as the Pirates thump Umatilla.

By KEITH NIEBUHR, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 4, 2002

CRYSTAL RIVER -- For those who questioned whether Crystal River had a second act to follow No. 1 starter Jimmy Metz, the Pirates have an answer.

His name is William Bunch.

The junior right-hander pitched seven strong innings and the third-ranked Pirates overcame a slow start to defeat Umatilla 8-1 on Friday night.

Crystal River will play at No. 5 Eustis on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in the region final. Eustis advanced to the final by beating St. Augustine Nease on Friday. The winner of that game goes to the state final four at Tampa's Legends Field.

"It's exciting," Crystal River coach Brent Hall said. "We're in uncharted waters.

"We didn't play great by any stretch, but we played hard and battled."

Bunch (5-1) was superb.

In the first, he hit the second batter he faced, then gave up a single to Nick Semento that scored a run after an errant throw.

After that, Bunch allowed just three hits and finished with 11 strikeouts.

Three Crystal River (29-3) errors kept him on his toes, but he delivered in every crucial situation.

"William Bunch was awesome tonight," Hall said. "He kept his composure as he does every night.

"He gave up the one run in the first and shut them out the rest of the way."

Semento had three of Umatilla's hits. His teammates went 1-for-22.

"I didn't let the first inning bother me," Bunch said. "I knew I had the bats and the defense to back me up."

Crystal River's normally potent offense took three innings to heat up against Bulldogs starter Carter Clements (4-4).

Clements had no trouble in the first, then worked out of a second-and-third, one-out jam in the second.

But in the third, Crystal River tied the game at 1 on an RBI-single to left by Clayton Trenary.

In the fourth, Jonathan Runnels singled to left with the bases loaded and one out for a 3-1 Crystal River lead.

Clements was replaced by Matt Sarzynski, but the Pirates scored three more in the inning thanks to a Trenary sacrifice fly to center and a two-run double by Marcus Galvan.

Trenary capped a 2-for-2 night with a two-run double to left in the sixth. He finished with a game-high four RBIs.

The Pirates also got multiple-hit games from Galvan (2-for-4), Runnels (2-for-4) and Ryan Starkey (2-for-3).

The difference, though, was Bunch.

He retired 12 of the final 14 batters he faced and Umatilla (15-16) advanced no runner past second after the first inning.

The Bulldogs had 11 hits in a 5-3 upset of No. 6 Orlando Bishop Moore on Tuesday.

"He did a nice job staying in the strike zone," Umatilla coach Don Semento said. "He set up his curveball well."

When the week began, Crystal River had gone 56 years since its last playoff win.

The Pirates now sit one victory away from a trip to the state semifinal in Tampa. They are 9-0 on the road.

"It's one game to get to the final four," Hall said. "It's what kids dream of."

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