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Led by a coach who stressed the finer points of baseball, the team heads to Legends Field tonight after a remarkably uneven season.
By MIKE READLING, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 17, 2002
TAMPA -- You can chart Chamberlain's growth this season by simply looking at the Chiefs scores.
You can see the baby steps as this team comprising nine sophomores and eight juniors grew from a decent baseball team, hoping to contend in its own district, into one of the final four teams remaining in Class 5A.
Look at the close games at the beginning of the season. There are four and the Chiefs lost them all. Four of their first five losses were by one run, its first five wins were by a minimum of five runs.
It was obvious Chamberlain could win ballgames, but in order to be a great team you have to win close ballgames. That breakthrough finally came March 13.
That's when the Chiefs pulled off their first close win of the season, 4-3 over Leto. Two nights later they did it again, beating Alonso 3-2.
It may not have been an explosion, but it was a birth nonetheless. A birth, it turned out, that would lead to Chamberlain's first state baseball tournament appearance. The Chiefs (14-12) will play East Lake (27-4) tonight at Legends Field, beginning at 8 p.m.
"It was just a matter of the kids maturing," Chiefs coach Dick Rohrberg said. "It was them realizing what they have to do to win games. You have to get outs. You have to complete double plays. You have to get the lead runner when the other team bunts. Then the bats came around.
"They've grown up. They have a full season under their belts. Now, instead of having nine sophomores and eight juniors, I have nine juniors and eight seniors."
Early in the season Rohrberg made it a point to prove to his team how big the little intricacies of baseball really are.
Admittedly, some of the things he did -- call for bunts in certain situations, move runners on the bases -- may have cost his team a win here or there, but Rohrberg had a bigger picture in mind. He saw Legends Field and he saw his team playing on it if they could just get done the seemingly unimportant things.
"I had a mother come up to me and tell me she never realized how important bunting was in the game of baseball," Rohrberg said. "I made them do some things that they weren't sure of. But they realized it works."
Suddenly, it was the Chiefs running around the bases, getting the clutch hits when needed, moving the runners over with one out. And Rohrberg's early season lessons finally paid off big in the regional tournament.
Chamberlain won all three of its regional games by one run, two the direct result of those "little things."
"It made us stronger to win those games," said catcher Rocky Rocamora.
Against Lakeland in the regional quarterfinal, Chamberlain scored the go-ahead run after it stole second, moved to third on a ball pulled to the other side of the infield and then came home on a wild pitch. Basic baseball.
Three days later, the Chiefs used a base hit, combined with some Spruce Creek jitters to move to second and third before scoring on another wild pitch and win 7-6. The win was especially satisfying since Chamberlain trailed 6-2 until Rohrberg and his team went back to the fundamentals.
"God had to be with us for us to get this far," Rocamora said.
Added pitcher Devon Cason: "We started off slow but we've played as a team."
Cason will start tonight against East Lake, the ace on a team that some thought would have turned in its uniforms two weeks ago.
Thanks in part to those seven losses by one run, Chamberlain entered its district tournament with a losing record. But the 6-foot sophomore said predictions of the Chiefs demise don't faze him.
"I just try to keep my head straight and pitch," said Cason, who enters the game with a 6-2 record and 1.86 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 60 innings. "This has been a dream of mine to go to Legends Field for the high school tournament."
It's a dream that wouldn't have ever come true had it not been for some timely hitting. Brad Johnson would be the man to thank for that.
Johnson hit what some consider the most important home run in Chamberlain history, knocking one over the fence in the bottom of the 10th inning against Deltona to give Chamberlain its first state tournament berth.
"All I could think of when I was running around the bases was, 'We're going to Legends Field,' " Johnson said. "Our goal was to get there. That's what we've focused on from the beginning. We're going to Legends Field."
Mosley (23-9)
Coach: Doug Lee (Fourth year, 96-33)
City: Lynn Haven
Mascot: Dolphins
Last state tournament appearance: 1999, lost to Wellington 5-4 in the Class 5A state championship game
About the team: Mosley is the only team in the Class 5A tournament to have advanced to the state final four. The Dolphins have won 14 of their last 16 games heading into the tournament. They are led by pitcher Kyle Pearson who has struck out 75 batters in 59 innings and carries a 1.89 ERA. Pearson is also one of Mosley's leading hitters, entering the tournament with 4 home runs, 24 RBIs and 20 runs scored. This is the fifth straight year Mosley has advanced to the regional tournament and second time in four tries it has made the final four. The Dolphins lost in the region finals last year.
Coach: Charlie Cardinale (10th year, 231-97)
City: Cooper City
Mascot: Cowboys
Last state tournament appearance: This is Cooper City's first appearance in the state tournament
About the team: After finishing as runners-up in its district tournament, Cooper City shut out its last two opponents in the regional tournament. The team ace is Matt Cundiff who has a 2.08 ERA with 58 strikeouts in 57 innings and has allowed 45 hits. The Cowboys have seven hitters with at least one home run, led by Donnie Cundiff with six. Matt Meingasner leads the team with 31 RBIs and is batting .448, just behind Brandon Doddo's .478 average and ahead of Anthony Gonzalez at .400.
Coach: Lee Byers (12th year, record not available)
City: East Lake
Mascot: Eagles
Last state tournament appearance: This is East Lake's first appearance in the state tournament
About the team: After starting the season 1-1, East Lake went on a 15-game winning streak before losing to Mosley 7-1 at the end of March. The Eagles are currently riding an eight-game streak. Chris Coghlan is one of the Eagles top hitters, checking into the tournament with a .482 average with two home runs and 16 RBIs. The brotherly duo of Tyler and Nate Huegel help pick up the rest of the slack. Nate is hitting .337 with four homers and 28 RBIs while Tyler hits .4233 with a pair of home runs and 20 RBIs. Tyler is the team's ace on the mound, striking out 54 batters in 54 innings and holding down a 1.94 ERA. When Huegel's not throwing, 6-foot-4 Mike Billek comes in with his 1.55 ERA and 87 strikeouts in 58 innings.
Chamberlain's projected starting lineup and their batting averages for tonight's Class 5A semifinal against East Lake:
Keelan Cottle, LF, .296
Steve Howard, CF, .310
Rocky Rocamora, C, .425
Clay Spivey, 3B, .222
Devon Cason, P, .264
D.J. Burruezo, RF, .273
Chris Noriega, SS, .279
Brad Johnson, 1B, .269
Manny Mull, 2B, .324
Feb. 12 -- Chamberlain 6, Bloomingdale 1
Feb. 16 -- Riverview 8, Chamberlain 5
Feb. 20 -- Chamberlain 7, Brandon 1
Feb. 22 -- Durant 3, Chamberlain 2
Feb. 26 -- Chamberlain 15, Alonso 3
March 1 -- Plant 8, Chamberlain 7
March 2 -- Chamberlain 12, Hillsborough 5
March 5 -- Chamberlain 9, Wharton 2
March 6 -- Gaither 1, Chamberlain 0
March 9 -- King 4, Chamberlain 3
March 13 -- Chamberlain 4, Leto 3
March 15 -- Chamberlain 3, Alonso 2
March 19 -- Hillsborough 4, Chamberlain 3
March 23 -- King 12, Chamberlain 2
March 25 -- Gaither 8, Chamberlain 4
March 26 -- Chamberlain 16, Wharton 0
April 2 -- Chamberlain 7, Tampa Bay Tech 2
April 6 -- Chamberlain 5, Wharton 1
April 9 -- King 2, Chamberlain 1
April 10 -- Sickles 5, Chamberlain 2
April 16 -- East Bay 4, Chamberlain 3
April 24 -- Chamberlain 5, Leto 0
April 26 -- King 7, Chamberlain 6
April 30 -- Chamberlain 2, Lakeland 1
May 3 -- Chamberlain 7, Spruce Creek 6
May 7 -- Chamberlain 8, Deltona 7 (10 innings)
WHAT: Florida High School State Baseball Tournament.
WHEN: Class 5A semifinals begin today with Mosley vs. Cooper City at 1 p.m., followed by Chamberlain vs. East Lake at 8 p.m. The two winners will play for the state championship at 4 p.m.
ADMISSION: $6 per person, $3 to park