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© St. Petersburg Times, published June 5, 2002
TAMPA -- Pop Cuesta saw plenty of things he liked about his team during the first American Legion tournament of the year. He also saw a few things he didn't.
Simple things, such as baserunning miscues and fielding errors, cost his West Tampa Post 248 squad a couple of games and a shot at the title. "For this being our first tournament together, we did okay," said Cuesta, whose team consists of players from his Jefferson High team as well as from Plant and Berkeley Prep. "The kids worked hard and we did some good things, but it's just the first (tournament)."
That means West Tampa will get more chances to bounce back from its finish in the semifinals. After winning three games Friday and Saturday, West Tampa lost twice Sunday to miss out on the final. West Tampa suffered a 2-1 setback to New Port Richey Post 79 and then was pounded 13-4 by Manatee Post 24.
New Port Richey defeated Land O'Lakes Post 147 4-3 in the wild-card matchup to advance to its game against West Tampa. New Port Richey's two wins Sunday sent it to the final against Manatee. A hot-hitting team for the entire tournament, Manatee had plenty of firepower left after its nine-run win against West Tampa. Manatee pounded 16 hits in the championship game, trouncing New Port Richey 15-3.
"They were a really well-hitting team," Cuesta said. "And they kept it up pretty much the whole tournament."
But Cuesta was also happy with the hitting of some of his own players, namely Gerald Smith, Alexandro Castellan, Julio Pacheco and B.J. Suggs. West Tampa also got solid pitching from David Gandy.
The team will have little rest as the Legion season continues with games Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for most of the next two months. In addition to West Tampa, teams representing Chamberlain, Sickles, Gaither, Brandon, Robinson, Armwood, Seminole, Sarasota Riverview, Plant City and Pasco will be competing.