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Rams stun No. 1

Ronny Lowe is strong on the mound, and Ridgewood rallies for three runs late to reach Class 4A final.

[Times photo: Brendan Fitterer] In a packed cafeteria, Ridgewood High School students cheer on the school's baseball team Wednesday afternoon during a pep rally.

By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published May 16, 2002

TAMPA -- Facing an undefeated team ranked No. 1 in the nation with the bases loaded and a two-run lead with two outs in the final inning Wednesday, Ridgewood's Ronny Lowe had no fear even as Dunedin's Steve Doetsch ripped a 1-1 pitch toward first base.

Teammate Danny Lotz didn't move as he snagged the line drive, the last of several defensive gems that helped Ridgewood to a 3-1 upset of Dunedin at Legends Field, an improbable win that will have them on the same field tonight playing for a state championship.

"I knew I had my defense, so I wasn't worried," said Lowe, who held the Falcons to four hits for his third win of the postseason. "(Defense) was everything tonight. I couldn't have done it without them."

Ridgewood (27-7) advances to play tonight at 7 against Jacksonville Bishop Kenny (25-5), which advanced by beating Port St. Lucie Centennial. The Rams have a chance to join the 1957 Pasco Pirates as the only county baseball teams to win state titles.

Dunedin, which entered the game ranked No. 1 in the nation by studentsports.com, saw its season end despite holding Ridgewood to four hits, with all the damage coming in an opportunistic fifth inning.

"I know what kind of team this has been for the past four ballgames, and that's a team that won't quit, gets great pitching and solid defense and comes up with the plays," said Rams coach Larry Beets, whose team set a school record with its 27th victory.

The great pitching came from Lowe (13-1), who allowed the game's first batter to score and then shut the Falcons out the rest of the way. After Jamie Garris led off the second with a single to right, Lowe retired the next 12 batters to keep the Rams in the game. It was his third complete game of the postseason, holding his opponents to one run in each victory.

The bottom of Ridgewood's lineup set up the scoring in the fifth. Sophomore Josh Rose led off with an infield single, bringing freshman Jon Koenigsfeld to the plate. Koenigsfeld laid down a bunt that pitcher Ryan Harvey (10-1) bobbled, then rushed a throw that sailed wide of first base to rightfield, putting runners at second and third with no outs.

After pinch-hitter Corey Opalka struck out by bunting foul on a squeeze, sophomore Josh Le'Roy lined a 1-1 pitch to rightfield to bring home two runs and give Ridgewood a 2-1 lead.

"I keep saying it, but it hasn't sunk in yet -- we did it," said Le'Roy, who scored on a bases-loaded walk to Lotz to give the Rams a 3-1 lead.

As for the defense, it came from Rams young and old. Koenigsfeld, who didn't play in rightfield until the postseason, made three key outs, catching two line drives in the first inning, then tracking down a deep shot over his shoulder in the fifth. Senior shortstop Richie Hittel, whose error on a potential double-play ball put two runners on with no outs in the sixth, redeemed himself with a long throw from the hole to end the sixth inning.

Dunedin (32-1) rallied in the seventh, loading the bases on an error, single and Lowe's only walk. Doetsch, a .536 hitter who drove in 27 runs this season, hit the ball hard, but straight at Lotz, who had shifted back on the previous pitch, remembering how the batter had singled past him in the first inning.

"I believe in the baseball gods, and they weren't on our side tonight," said Doetsch, a top draft prospect who reached base twice before his final line drive. "You don't hit a ball much harder than that."

The Falcons, having missed a chance at a state title on their only loss of the year, will have the small consolation of a national ranking as they watch the Rams tonight. Their loss marked the first time since 1983 that an unbeaten team has fallen in the state tournament.

"My kids didn't play with pressure all year," coach Tom Hilbert said. "They just didn't win tonight."

Beets, who has coached Ridgewood for all of its 19 years, said despite making his first trip to the state tournament, he can sympathize with the Falcons' disappointment Wednesday.

"That's got to hurt," Beets said. "I've been doing this a long time, and I know those kids are thinking they won 32 games and they have to start all over again. They play somebody down the road, not too far from them, and they get knocked off. That's tough for anyone."

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