CLASS A: An emphasis on offense didn't help Mustangs in 3-0 loss.
By BOB PUTNAM
Published May 9, 2003
ST. PETERSBURG - With a lineup that has just three players batting over .300, Northside Christian coach Larry Webster knew he would have to get the offense in gear.
But even with an emphasis on hitting this week, the Mustangs' bats once again fell silent Thursday.
Celebration pitcher Lisa Origer threw a one-hit shutout in a 3-0 victory over Northside Christian in a region semifinal game.
The Mustangs, who made it to the region semifinals for the first time in seven years, finished 18-6.
"We worked on our hitting, but for some reason we just couldn't get anything going," Webster said. "We couldn't afford to have a day like this. It's just a tough way to end."
Webster thought his team had a chance to beat Celebration, ranked No. 7 in Class A, based on how the Mustangs fared against a common opponent, Lakeland Santa Fe. Whereas the Pride split with its district rival, Northside won its only meeting handily.
The Mustangs also had a favorable scouting report on Origer, who didn't exactly blow away batters with her velocity.
Whatever Origer lacked in speed, though, she made up for in location. Using a lot of movement on her pitches, Origer kept the Mustangs guessing and enticed them into popups and grounders.
Emily Austin, who scored the winning run in Tuesday's quarterfinal, had the Mustangs' only hit, a single in the fifth. "(Origer) was certainly not overpowering us," Webster said. "I kept expecting us to break out, but we just never had good contact. Whenever we did put the ball in play, their defense was there."
Northside's defense was not. The Mustangs committed four of their five errors in the first two innings. That was the difference as Celebration capitalized on the mistakes, scoring twice in the first and once in the second.
The sloppy glove work wasted a solid pitching effort by Amy McGathey. The senior allowed three singles and struck out eight.
"It wasn't the way I wanted Amy to end her season and her career," Webster said. "But it was still a great run."
