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The Knights can score in bunches or get the timely hit to break open a ballgame.
By STEVE LEE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2002
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Stefanie Simon has singled twice and scored a run to help River Ridge take a 2-1 lead over Orange Park Ridgeview in the Class 4A, Region 2 semifinal.
So with two outs and runners at the corners, Ridgeview pitcher Leslie Hayman opted for an intentional walk rather than pitch to the Royal Knights' cleanup hitter.
Hayman got out of that jam, but River Ridge scored three in the sixth for a 5-1 win.
"Stefanie Simon, they're afraid of you," coach Ernie Beck said later.
Simon and No. 3 Christine Beck ought to be feared for the offensive number they've put up. Simon leads River Ridge in average (.430) and RBIs (36), while Beck, the coach's daughter, averages .396 with a team-high 36 runs scored.
Collectively, the team's numbers are staggering:
30 wins.
11 wins by 10-run rule.
A lopsided 138-41 victory margin.
"I know we hit the ball pretty well," Beck said. "We've got to win by hitting."
The Knights have also come through in the clutch.
With Kiki Von Holt and Central's Jenny Clark locked in a pitcher's duel in a region quarterfinal, Kim Deeb and Kelly Evers helped lead the Knights to their first playoff win in school history. Deeb, a .233 hitter, came through with a two-out, two-run double to tie the game at 2 and Evers followed that hit with a go-ahead single to score Deeb. Evers came in on a throwing error for a 4-2 win.
In the win over Ridgeview, Mandy Udovich's sacrifice fly scored Jill Hrovoski, who singled, with the game-winner. Just for good measure, leadoff hitter Adrienne Cicirello hit a run-scoring triple and scored on a passed ball in the sixth.
In the Knights' 13-2 region final win over Green Cove Springs Clay, every player in the starting lineup had a hit in a season-high 18-hit attack.
"You've got to put the runs on the board," Beck said. "When you get four or five runs, that's what helps our pitching."
Indeed, the coach thinks a big part of the team's eight shutout wins came from early leads that demoralized other clubs.
Senior Christine Beck, the 2001 Sunshine Athletic Conference and Times Player of the Year, is 15-1 and has won 35 games over the past two seasons. Kiki Von Holt, a sophomore transfer from East Lake, is 13-1.
Both pitchers have matching 0.79 ERAs and Beck's 64 strikeouts are one more than Von Holt's.
Though the coach has alternated his pitchers all season, Von Holt, who threw a five-hitter in the regional final, gets the starting nod in today's state semifinal against Naples Barron Collier.
"She's had four days rest," the coach said. "It's not like she's had to throw every day."
Besides, Beck added, "If we go to the finals, I want Christine to pitch it."
WHERE: Ed Radice Park, Tampa.
WHEN: Today.
SCHEDULE: No. 1 Tallahassee Leon vs. No. 2 Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas, 1:30 p.m.; No. 5 River Ridge vs. No. 9 Naples Barron Collier 4:30 p.m.
AT STAKE: The winners of today's semifinals advance to Friday's 6:30 p.m. championship game. State championship and runner-up trophies will be after Friday's title game, and championship and runner-up medallions will be presented to members of both teams.
ADMISSION: $6; FHSAA passes only.
PARKING: $3.
THE LAST TIME... A Pasco County team won a state softball championship was Ridgewood's 24-6 squad in 1992. The Rams were tied 6-6 with Berkeley Prep in the Class 3A finals when Kristen Maguire hit a two-out single in the top of the seventh inning to score Kara D'Agata and give Ridgewood a 7-6 lead. Rams pitcher Amber Martinez retired three Berkeley batters one-two-three in the bottom of the inning to give Ridgewood its state title.
DIRECTIONS: From I-275, exit onto Bearss Avenue and head west until it turns into Erlich Road. Continue west until the road ends at Sickles High School. Turn right onto Gunn Highway. Head north to the first light, then turn left onto South Mobley. Head west 1.8 miles, and Ed Radice Park is ahead on the left. From the Suncoast Parkway, exit at Gunn Highway.
2002: Beat Land O'Lakes 11-0 for District 8 championship; Central 4-2, Orange Park Ridgeview 5-1 and Green Cove Springs Clay 13-2 in Region 2.
2001: District runner-up, 1-0 loss to Palm Harbor University; lost region quarterfinal, 2-0 to Countryside.
1997: District runner-up, 6-5 loss to Land O'Lakes; lost region quarterfinal, 8-1 to Auburndale.
1996: District runner-up, 10-3 loss to Ridgewood; lost region quarterfinal, 1-0 to Auburndale.
1995: District runner-up, 5-1 loss to CCC; lost region quarterfinal, 2-1 to Land O'Lakes.
-- Compiled by Jamal Thalji and Steve Lee.