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The Pitcher
By GREG AUMAN, Times Staff Writer
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Jeff Bloomer's final pitch Tuesday afternoon went sailing into deep leftfield, caught on the warning track to clinch Land O'Lakes' 5-3 comeback victory. The 1-2-3 seventh gave Bloomer his county-leading third save, and though the last pitch might have come within feet of leaving the park, it impressed coach Calvin Baisley as much as any Bloomer has thrown this season. With two outs and a two-run lead, Bloomer faced River Ridge's top hitter, Doug Kneib, and got out to a 2-and-0 count. Rather than risk walking Kneib to bring the tying run to the plate, Bloomer decided to throw him a strike and see what happened. "We didn't have to tell him anything; he just knew that the batter couldn't beat him by himself, so he knew to throw him a strike and make him swing," Baisley said. "That's pretty good thinking for a ninth-grader." Freshmen rarely have any thinking to do for Baisley's Gators. In his first 18 years at Land O'Lakes, Baisley had all of five players make the varsity roster as freshmen. He has nearly matched that this season with four, including Bloomer, who has a pristine 0.00 ERA in 16 innings of relief. "I didn't expect it would go this well," said the left-hander, 14. "I was hoping I'd do well, thought I'd get an inning here, an inning there, but it's been a lot better than I thought it would be." The only unearned run Bloomer has allowed came on, of all things, a strikeout, after a third strike got past the Gators catcher against Hudson. Freshmen are a major reason the Gators are 14-6 and will have the second seed in the Class 4A District 8 tournament in two weeks, and Bloomer isn't the only one. The Gators' starting catcher, Ricky Howroyd, is a freshman, as is first baseman Caz Piurowski, a 6-foot-6 slugger who bats cleanup and leads the team with three home runs. Another freshman, Danny Sutton, is the backup catcher and went 2-for-4 in his only start. Baisley said for freshmen to make the varsity, they need both talent and opportunity, and this year's class has made the most of both. It bodes well for the Gators' future but just as much so for the present team, which already has three more wins than last season. "They've all made big contributions, and I know we wouldn't be here without them," Baisley said. "I have confidence in Bloomer out there, but that starts with him having confidence in himself. He's very competitive and he wants to be out there. Having that is over half the battle." Bloomer said his confidence comes from years of baseball experience but just as much from a high respect for the defensive abilities of the players around him, whether they be seniors or freshmen. "If I put strikes down the middle, I know I have my fielders behind me," Bloomer said. "A lot of people didn't think we'd be this good, but we've stepped up and showed a lot of teams we can hit the ball and play defense."
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