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Royal Knights reach first state title game

RIVER RIDGE 1, BARRON COLLIER 0: Christine Beck's single with two outs in the 10th inning scores Stephanie Seaman.

By STEVE LEE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 10, 2002

TAMPA -- It took River Ridge five innings just to muster a hit in Thursday's Class 4A state semifinal at Ed Radice Park.

The Royal Knights then needed 10 innings to score, but the reward was worth the wait.

Stephanie Seaman raced home from second on Christine Beck's two-out single for a 1-0 win over Naples Barron Collier and the Knights advanced to their first state championship game.

River Ridge (31-2) plays at 6:30 tonight against Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas (29-4), a 1-0 winner over Tallahassee Leon.

"I thought it was going to go on forever," said winning pitcher Kiki Von Holt, who improved to 14-1 by going the distance in her longest stint of the season.

"No hesitation," River Ridge coach Ernie Beck said of sending Seaman home on his daughter's single to right-centerfield.

"Any hit in the outfield, we were going. You were going to have to throw us out at the plate."

Each team had a chance to score after players from both sides hit leadoff doubles in the 10th.

In the top of the inning, Barron Collier's Paula Cammuso was stranded after she doubled and was sacrificed to third. Julie Gutman struck out and Christine Pittman grounded out to shortstop Stefanie Simon.

In the bottom of the inning, Kim Deeb, who struck out in her first three at-bats, doubled down the leftfield line. Pinch-runner Danielle Denney advanced on Adrienne Cicirello's groundout, but was tagged out at third on Seaman's grounder back to pitcher Kris Schaus.

Seaman, who advanced to second on the play, scored the game's lone run on Beck's hit. Rightfielder Kary Steffan charged the ball and came up throwing, but was off line.

"If I got it in the outfield I knew (Seaman) would score," said Beck, who had three of the Knights' eight hits off Schaus. "She's too fast not to. And I knew my dad would send her. We had been playing too hard."

Schaus (11-5) struck out 14 and did not allow a hit until Mandy Udovich led off the fifth with a single. Schaus finished the season with 208 strikeouts.

"Kris pitched a great game," Cougars coach Gregg Lewis said. "She kept their studs off balance."

"We wanted it more at the end," said Christine Beck, a pitcher and second baseman who is scheduled to start today's final.

"We didn't get tense. We just came out here to do our job."

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