CLEARWATER - Monday teardrops from the skies splattered over Clearwater, preventing the District 12 Major baseball championship game from being played.
Tuesday night it was teardrops of joy that fell at Sid Lickton Field.
The Palm Harbor National Pirates stormed back from a shaky start to win the District 12 Tournament of Champions with a 7-6 win over the archrival Palm Harbor American Rangers.
The Rangers capitalized on sloppy defense in the top of the first to take a 1-0 lead. An ill-advised throw to third base by Pirates catcher Ben Sweat after a wild pitch allowed Sean Shelton to score.
"It's Little League Baseball," Palm Harbor National coach John Petika said after winning his fourth TOC title. "You're still dealing with 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds, and they make errors."
After calming down the jitters and firing up their emotions with a quick second inning, the Pirates exploded for seven runs in the third off Rangers pitcher Michael Warren.
With the bases loaded and the infield drawn in, K.C. Turgeon drove in the first Pirates run with a groundball up the middle. Sweat followed by taking a pitch in the back to drive in another run. Ryan Kittle and Mike Tipton each had run-scoring hits to keep the inning alive.
"We've probably done that about eight times this season," Palm Harbor American coach Brian DeGonzague said. "When we fall apart we fall apart good. But we never gave up hope and we were one run short."
Even with a six-run lead, Petika knew the game was far from over.
"Those kids (the Rangers) can hit," Petika said. "We normally have an edge on defense and they have an edge on hitting."
Warren settled down to shut out the Pirates the rest of the way. He finished with eight strikeouts while allowing eight hits.
Then the Rangers bats came alive, rallying for three runs in the third and two in the fourth to pull within one. Ryan Hoyt and Michael Warren each had run-scoring hits for Palm Harbor American.
Pirates starter Matt Allison left the game in the fourth after complaining of stiffness in his right arm. Chris Wenstrom shut out the Rangers over the final two innings to preserve the win.
This was the fifth one-run game between Palm Harbor National and Palm Harbor American. They will combine to form a single team for the All-Stars tournament scheduled to start June 27. Last year's Palm Harbor Major baseball All-Stars team came within one win of the state championship.
MAJOR BASEBALL: Sweat pitched a complete game and Kittle homered as Palm Harbor National advanced to the District 12 championship game after defeating Largo National 5-3 on Sunday.
JUNIOR BASEBALL: In the District 12 Tournament of Champions, Palm Harbor American advanced to the championship game with an 11-5 win over Tarpon Springs. George Van Riper had a triple and two RBIs, and Taylor Tillung pitched seven innings with 10 strikeouts for Palm Harbor. Palm Harbor plays Clearwater at 7 tonight in the championship game.
Saturday Palm Harbor American clinched a semifinals berth by defeating East Lake 10-8 in extra innings. Van Riper pitched five scoreless innings with seven strikeouts for the win.
MAJOR SOFTBALL: Early last week Devon Morley pitched a no-hitter and scored three runs to help Meadowlawn defeat Pinellas Park National in District 5 action. Michaela Dubois added a home run and a single for Meadowlawn. The following night, Alexis Castle struck out seven and had four hits as Meadowlawn defeated Azalea in extra innings.
