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Today's softball region final

By JOHN SCHWARB, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 4, 2002

CLASS 5A, REGION 3

• Naples (23-8) at Countryside (31-1), 7 p.m.
• WHERE: Bomber Stadium, Clearwater
• ADMISSION: $5

HOW THEY GOT HERE: Naples beat Cape Coral 4-0 and Palm Harbor U. 6-0; Countryside beat Northeast 7-0 and Naples Gulf Coast 6-0.

OUTLOOK: No, the Cougars do not get the matchup with PHU that many fans anticipated, though they'll likely have their hands full nonetheless with Naples. The Golden Eagles, ranked No. 7, have bulldozed many teams in the past on the way to nine state titles, but this year's club is a grinder's delight. Coach Robert Iamurri has no seniors and no ace pitcher, instead he tweaks the lineup constantly through the course of a game and swaps right-handers Ingrid Schumacher and Lindsay Woodring on the mound. Against PHU, the Golden Eagles had a couple of timely hits, but more important, they were opportunistic on the bases and capitalized on Hurricanes miscues. Countryside, ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 6 in a USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, pounced on its first two opponents early and pitcher Bree Spence gave foes no chance to recover. The big question today might be whether Countryside can avoid errors in the field under the pressure of playing for its first state tournament berth.

MOVING ON: The winner plays Wednesday in the state semifinals at Ed Radice Sports Complex, Tampa.

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