Patriots can't hold lead, stop Falcons

By CHARLES CARDWELL
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 27, 2003

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DUNEDIN - Red-hot Pinellas Park couldn't hold its 2-0 overnight lead against Dunedin.

After Friday's Pinellas County Athletic Conference championship game was postponed in the first inning because of rain, it was unclear if the two runs Pinellas Park scored were going to be allowed to stand.

They did, but Dunedin (22-5) came back in the bottom of the first with four runs Saturday, which was all that was needed to defeat the Patriots 6-3.

Dunedin's first three batters singled, and following Joey Angelberger's RBI sacrifice fly to right, the Falcons followed with three more singles off Patriots pitcher Ken Almeida.

Pinellas Park's attempt to come back in the second was foiled when Steve Mullins popped up to third with two runners on base.

Dunedin continued its attack in the fourth when Patriots reliever Tim Martin allowed the first two batters to reach base on walks. Angelberger brought in two more runs with a double to center.

Heading into the fifth trailing 6-2, Pinellas Park's Kevin Garcia and Mullins singled to start the inning. Garcia scored on a groundout by Almeida, but Mullins was stranded on third when Luis Arrojo struck out to end the inning.

Pinellas Park (15-12) left a runner on third base three times.

With the score still 6-3 in the seventh, Dunedin brought in closer Dustin Skinner, who made short work of the Patriots by inducing two groundouts and a fly ball to right.

"A few years ago, the Park wouldn't even be considered for this game," Patriots coach Bill Ruttencutter said. "There were no errors on either side, so we've got to be happy about that."

"Pinellas Park is an outstanding team, as they have won nine out of their past 11 games," Dunedin coach Tom Hilbert said. "They deserved those two runs."

Vikings almost catch Palm Harbor U. napping

PALM HARBOR - Palm Harbor University pushed across two runs in the first inning, and that should have been pretty much it.

This was the PCAC title game, right?

Yes, but no. This time a lead was not enough as Northeast hung in Friday to make a game of the PCAC championship for the first time in five years. In the end, north county still prevailed.

Northeast tied the game at 2 with a pair of runs in the fifth, only to watch PHU get one more on an error to win 3-2 and claim the title for the second straight year.

Staying patient against senior pitcher Jessica Brinkman, Northeast drew five walks, including two in the fifth, to get Brinkman out of the game.

Hurricanes coach Chuck Poetter gave the ball to Dani Hofer, the county's most dominant pitcher the past two months, with a pair of perfect games.

Northeast's Crystal Folwell did not care, tagging a pitch to the leftfield wall to score Michelle Maillard and Lynn Footlick to tie it.

"Hardest hit ball I've seen off Dani in probably two years," Poetter said. "Sometimes it happens that way. We kept telling them, "Don't let the team hang around, take them out, take them out.' We scored early and just went absolutely to sleep."

PHU (24-2) might have kept sleeping were it not for a Vikings miscue. Dana Bergner singled with two outs, and pinch-hitter Stephanie Post followed with a fly ball to left that would have been the third out. But Brittany Tuliano dropped it, the ball rolled away and Bergner came in with the winning run.

Hofer, who drove in PHU's two runs in the first with a single, had no trouble sealing it in the seventh. After Folwell's double, she retired seven in a row to close out Northeast (12-6).

- JOHN SCHWARB

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