Preps

East Bay wins in two locations

TAMPA -- East Bay went the extra mile to defeat Hillsborough on Monday in the second round of the Tony Saladino Tournament.

Literally.

The Indians scored two runs in the fifth to break open a 5-5 tie and overcame a change of venue to defeat the Terriers 9-5.

"It was a back and forth game all night," East Bay coach Bill Leiby said. "We'd get some runs, then they would get some runs and that's how the game went."

A power failure at Jefferson's field with East Bay (7-6) ahead 8-5 in the seventh caused the umpires to suspend play. Both coaches agreed to finish the game at Hillsborough's field.

"We wanted to finish this game no matter what," Leiby said. "I know we were going to their home field, but I didn't want my players to have to finish this game (today) and then have to sit around and play again later that night."

With the score tied at 5 in the fifth, East Bay's Mike Creason reached on an error and scored the winning run on Jimmy Vaughn's double. The Indians tacked on another run in the inning and two more in the seventh.

The Terriers brought the potential tying run to the plate when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh, but reliever Mike Stinson struck out Michael Garcia to end the game.

Stinson was 2-for-2 with a double, triple and two RBIs and Hillsborough's Chris Noriega went 3-for-4.

Because of the power outage, Jefferson's game against Riverview was rescheduled for 11 a.m. today at the Dragons' field.

-- BRANDON WRIGHT

Plant hangs on

TAMPA -- Last season outfielder J.R. Dunaway was toiling away on Plant's junior varsity team, one strong arm away from being lost in the shuffle of average-sized players filing through the Panthers system.

Monday night, the 6-foot, 185-pound junior was the reason Plant defeated Durant 5-4 at the University of Tampa.

It was a win all -- and almost not at all -- thanks to Dunaway.

He entered with two out in the fourth inning, relieving starter Johnny Williams with Ryan Carnley on third, Ryan Hutchinson on first and Brian Nichols at the plate as Plant clung to a 4-3 lead.

Durant coach Gary Graham immediately called for a delayed double steal, hoping to draw a throw to second and allow Carnley to score. But Dunaway took a few steps toward second base, turned and fired to home, nailing Carnley with a perfect strike.

He then retired six of the next nine batters he faced (four on strikeouts) before ratcheting up the tension in the bottom of the seventh.

As Plant (11-2) hung on to a 5-3 lead, Dunaway loaded the bases with with one out courtesy of a single and two walks. He struck out the next batter on three pitches but walked pinch-hitter Carmine Giardina to cut the lead to one run.

Panthers coach Bo Puckett only left Dunaway in because of instinct. Three pitches later the Panthers celebrated and Puckett breathed easier as the game ended on a fielder's choice, shortstop to second base.

"I wanted to see if he could get out of it and how he would pitch in a big game like this," Puckett said. "J.R. really showed what he could do tonight."

In earlier games, King beat Freedom 12-2 in six innings as Marcus Causey went 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs and three stolen bases. The Patriots managed two hits and King starter Phil Laliberte struck out four in five innings.

Robinson beat Alonso 4-1, thanks in part to the Ravens' inability to capitalize on chances. Alonso, which committed five errors, left the bases loaded while trailing 2-0, then couldn't manage anything off Knight starter Milan Dinga, who struck out nine and allowed five hits in seven innings.

-- MIKE READLING

Bulls stay perfect

TAMPA -- Ryan Strauss and Brandon McArthur entered Monday game at Jesuit as two of the area's best pitchers. Each has thrown a no-hitter this year and are key ingredients for their teams.

But someone forgot to tell the hitters. Each pitcher was chased early as Bloomingdale outslugged Armwood 8-5.

With the score tied at 4 after two innings, Armwood took a one-run lead in the third when Kirk Callahan's single scored Kevin Clark, who reached on a triple. But the Hawks' lead didn't last long as the Bulls bounced back with three runs in the fourth that put them ahead for good.

After Brett Morris walked and Paul McClay singled, Mitch Rodriguez followed with a double that scored both. Chris Woody then singled to drive Rodriguez home.

That was the last inning for Armwood's McArthur, who gave up seven runs and five hits in four innings of work. He struck out two and walked just one but had a poor defensive effort behind him as the Hawks made seven errors.

Strauss, meanwhile, lasted two-plus innings for Bloomingdale before being pulled. Strauss, who threw to three batters in the third, gave up eight hits and five runs and struck out two.

In the early game, Mark Price scored the winning run on a fielder's choice in the eighth inning as Tampa Bay Tech defeated Leto 3-2. Tech's Yuri Higgins had two hits, scored twice and threw a five-hitter, striking out 12 Falcons.

-- ROD GIPSON

Moat delivers for Sickles

TAMPA -- Sickles coach Bob Pagano knew he had to shake his team up.

He moved his No.3 hitter, catcher Paul Moat, down to the sixth slot in the batting order. The strategy paid off when Moat doubled to deep rightfield in the seventh inning to score Jeremy McNally with the winning run in the Gryphons' 6-5 victory over Plant City.

"The pitch was a fastball outside, but I knew I got all of it when I hit it," Moat said. "We needed this game to get us straightened out. Now we have to carry this momentum forward."

The game started poorly for Sickles (7-5) as Plant City (5-6) scored three times in the first inning, two runs coming on a single by first baseman Terrell McKay. Sickles got one back in the bottom of the first without a hit; Brian Rojas scored after leading off with a walk, stealing second, advancing to third on a fielder's choice and scoring on an error.

Both starting pitchers, Daniel Johns of Sickles and Josh Pippin of Plant City, settled down through the middle innings, allowing no runs. Pippin was especially effective, allowing no hits through the first five innings.

Pippin opened the sixth by issuing successive walks to Tanner Federico and Moat, then saw his no-hitter disappear as freshman Danny Dwyer tied the score by slicing a single to left, scoring both runners, who had moved into scoring position on a passed ball. Sickles scored twice more in the sixth to take a 5-3 lead.

Entering the seventh down by two runs, Plant City rallied to tie the score on key hits by Matt Chandler, Cory Wells, and McKay.

In the other game at Sickles, Mark Gildea went 3-for-4, including a double and a triple, and drove in six runs to lead Middleton over Wharton 10-1. Sophomore pitcher Roderick Carter had a complete game win, issuing two walks. "I've tried to work on my control and today it seemed to pay off," said Carter, a 6-foot-5 sophomore.

-- JIM REESE

Graham guides Gaither

TAMPA -- Sophomore right-hander Caleb Graham and junior reliever Daniel Thomas made four early runs stand as Gaither pinned Chamberlain with its second consecutive tournament loss, 4-2, at Gaither.

Chamberlain entered the tournament 9-0, but was stymied again after losing to Brandon in eight innings Saturday. Graham (3-3) mixed his pitches well before tiring in the bottom of the seventh. Thomas fanned two, then hit a batter and walked one loading the bases for a dramatic ending.

Chamberlain's Frank Whitten made a bid to tie the score with a one-hop liner down the first-base line. But Gaither first baseman Jason Baroff backhanded it falling to his knees, then outraced Whitten to the bag for the final out.

Gaither (7-4) parlayed wildness from Chiefs starter Brad Johnson and sloppy infield defense for four runs in the first two innings.

"We came out more aggressive then we have in the past, then we sat back," Gaither coach Frank Permuy said. "That team's too good, we knew they'd come back."

In the opener, Brandon (10-4) cruised to a 10-0 five-inning win over Blake (0-12). Sophomore left-hander Greg Merritt went four innings for the win, striking out seven.

-- JOEL POILEY

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