Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2002
BARRON COLLIER
NICKNAME: Cougars.
COLORS: Gray and royal blue.
RECORD: 21-9-1.
COACH: Gregg Lewis (138-54, sixth season).
RANKING: No. 9.
HOW THE COUGARS GOT HERE: Barron Collier defeated No. 7 Lehigh Acres Lehigh 2-1 to win the Class 4A, District 12 title, Dunedin 2-0 in the region quarterfinals and Plant 1-0 in the region semis. A 3-0 win over No. 3 Sickles in eight innings put the Cougars in the final four.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Cougars are an impressive 31-6 in the postseason, and have now made it to four of the last five final fours. After being state runner-up in '98, Barron Collier won the title in '99. Last season, the Cougars lost 1-0 to Bartow in the state semifinals.
AT THE PLATE: SS Alyssa Van Gemert leads the team with 10 RBIs, and C Janette Dulaney and CF Christy Matulay have eight apiece. Only four Cougars bat over .300, led by Matulay's .360. Lewis doesn't believe his team has any hot bats right now, but watch out if Barron Collier gets on base. The Cougars know how to manufacture runs.
ON THE MOUND: The Cougars have two No. 1 pitchers: senior Jessica Wallace (10-5-1, 0.86 ERA) and sophomore Kris Schaus (11-4, 0.43 ERA). The two right-handers are interchangeable to Lewis, and the coach could throw either one in for relief. Wallace is the veteran, but Schaus is a strikeout machine (152 Ks in 98 innings). They have a combined 13 shutouts this season and haven't allowed a run in the last three playoff games.
NEED TO KNOW: Don't be fooled by the lack of statistical production, because Barron Collier knows how to scratch out a win with very little production. Defense is the team's strength. Barron Collier hasn't allowed more than five runs in a game this season and only two runs in the last six contests. If it's a tight game, don't bet against the Cougars.
NICKNAME: Lions.
COLORS: Red and white.
RECORD: 29-2.
COACH: Windy Jones (114-11, fourth season).
RANKING: No. 1.
HOW THE LIONS GOT HERE: The Lions defeated Jacksonville Bishop Kenny 4-0, an 18-12 Pensacola Pine Forest team 1-0, and a surprising 13-15 Pensacola Washington team 4-1. PLAYOFF HISTORY: In Class 5A last year, Leon took a 24-2 record into the playoffs but was stunned in the first round. This is Leon's fifth straight trip to the playoffs. In 1998 and 1999, the Lions reached the region final, and in 2000, Leon lost to Sickles in the state semifinals.
AT THE PLATE: When your staff ace has allowed one earned run, it's easy for the offense to get overlooked. Leah English and Collette Crooms came through with back-to-back doubles for the lone run in the regional semifinal victory.
ON THE MOUND: The state's top pitcher is senior Erin Horn, who carries a ridiculous 0.03 ERA and a 28-2 record. She set the state record for strikeouts in a season last week -- she now has 436, easily passing the previous mark of 413. With a career record of 63-5 and 20 shutouts this season, the University of Virginia signee is the premier player in this year's tournament.
NEED TO KNOW: Tough as Horn is, she has been beaten twice this season, by two final four teams from Class 5A and 3A, Gainesville Buchholz and Wakulla, the latter scoring a 7-0 victory. What the 0.03 ERA doesn't show are unearned runs, so as with any high school team, if you put the ball in play, anything can happen.
NICKNAME: Royal Knights.
COLORS: Purple and silver.
RECORD: 30-2.
COACH: Ernie Beck (163-61, eighth season).
RANKING: No. 5.
HOW THE ROYAL KNIGHTS GOT HERE: River Ridge bested Land O'Lakes 11-0 in the District 8 final, Central 4-2 in the region quarterfinals, Orange Park Ridgeview 5-1 in the region semifinals and defending 4A state champion Green Cove Springs Clay 13-2 in the region final.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: River Ridge hadn't won a playoff game until this season, going 0-4 in the postseason. Beck has guided River Ridge to the opening round of the playoffs three times, in 1996, 1997 and 2001.
AT THE PLATE: Everyone on the roster has at least one RBI. Leading the hit parade are P/2B Christine Beck and SS Stefanie Simon. Beck hits third and has a .396 average with a team-high 36 runs scored and 25 RBIs. Simon, the cleanup hitter, leads the team in hitting (.430) and RBIs (36); CF Adrienne Cicirello is the leadoff hitter and averages .391 with 30 runs scored; 3B Jill Hrovoski bats .329 and has scored 20 runs with 15 RBIs; and RF Stephanie Seaman hits .417 with 28 runs scored.
ON THE MOUND: Right-hander Beck is also the team's ace. The two-time SAC Player of the Year has 35 wins in the last two seasons. She leads the Knights staff with a 15-1 record and has a 0.79 ERA in 1062/3 innings. But pitching today will be Kiki Von Holt, the steady No. 2, who has a 13-1 record, a 0.79 ERA and 63 strikeouts, one less than Beck.
NEED TO KNOW: River Ridge wouldn't have earned a school-record 30 wins without a deep lineup of productive, clutch hitters. But then the Knights wouldn't be here without that dominant pitching, either. In other words, River Ridge epitomizes balance, and will need to maintain that equilibrium to bring back the county's second state softball title on Friday.
NICKNAME: Raiders.
COLORS: Blue and gold.
RECORD: 28-4.
COACH: Brian Baucom (223-26, eighth season).
RANKING: No. 2.
HOW THE RAIDERS GOT HERE: Aquinas beat a 10-16 West Palm Beach Forest Hill team 12-0, a 17-14 Merritt Island team 5-1 and No. 9 Satellite 6-0.
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Raiders lost 1-0 to Naples in the second round last season but have made the playoffs nine straight years and are making their fourth final four appearance since 1995. That year they, they lost 1-0 in the final to Barron Collier, setting up a possible rematch in this year's title game. In 1996 and 2000, the Raiders lost two-run games in the semifinals to Kissimmee Osceola and Plant.
AT THE PLATE: At the top of the Raiders' lineup are sophomore twins Niki and Traci Nicosia, the daughters of former Pittsburgh Pirates catcher Steve Nicosia, now a Raiders assistant. Nikki (.486 avg) is a terror on the basepaths, while Traci (.411 avg, 20 runs) and the No. 3 hitter, senior Jen Cavanaugh (17 RBIs, 17 runs), are the ones consistently getting runners home. Three players -- Karen Cerutti, Heather McKeon and Rudi Julius -- have hit home runs this season.
ON THE MOUND: St. Thomas Aquinas has had two successful pitchers this year in Kristen Cefula (12-2, 0.39 ERA) and Liz Bennett (13-2, 0.42). Bennett pitched a shutout in the region final Saturday, but Cefula, a sophomore with 136 strikeouts in 72 innings, gets the nod tonight. Bennett is available in relief.
NEED TO KNOW: The Raiders' semifinal with Leon is the real showdown, with tonight's winner the odds-on favorite to win the title. The two teams were a unanimous 1-2 on all 10 state poll ballots, and while a showdown in the title game would be ideal, this is the next best thing. Baucom has guided his team to the playoffs every year since taking the job.