WILLISTON - Ashley Christensen had been with the varsity all season.
She just hadn't pitched.
In Wednesday night's quarterfinal against overmatched Ocala West Port (1-21), the Citrus sophomore was handed the ball and she delivered in a big way. In 42/3 innings, Christensen allowed one hit. Her teammates pounded out 12 as the third-seeded Hurricanes (16-7) routed sixth-seeded West Port 18-0 in five innings.
"There was a little bit of nerves," Christensen said. "I didn't want to bomb it."
Citrus coach Scott Waters said he didn't hesitate to start Christensen despite her lack of experience. That the Hurricanes beat the Wolf Pack 28-0 and 10-0 in two regular-season games played a part in his decision.
"She's not a bad little pitcher," Waters said.
Christensen retired the side in the second and fourth innings. She hit one batter and walked another in the first and allowed a single in the third, but never lost her composure.
Her offense helped.
The Hurricanes struck for eight runs in the first - all with two outs - and eight more in the second. Alycia LePage's first-inning triple brought in two to open the scoring. Citrus swung the bat well and was aided by five errors.
The Hurricanes play second-seeded Crystal River in one semifinal today at 5 p.m. Top-seeded Dunnellon plays No. 4 Williston at 7. The Red Devils advanced with a 9-6 win over No. 5 Hernando. The teams split during the regular season, but Williston took control early on Wednesday.
The Red Devils (11-12) scored six in the first and three in the second. Holly Gamble led Williston with three hits and two RBIs.
Hernando (11-17) trailed 9-3 after two and failed to mount a charge until the seventh, when the Leopards got run-scoring singles from Scottisha Scrivens and Krystle Knott to put three on the board and make things tight.
"We practiced really well Monday and Tuesday and I thought we were ready," Hernando coach Angie Svagerko said. "We just didn't have it tonight."
