Sarasota starts out hot, falls behind then pulls away to knock off Bloomingdale.
By JIM REESE
Published March 6, 2004
SARASOTA - In a key Class 6A, District 6 game, Sarasota used the long ball to defeat previously undefeated Bloomingdale, 11-4 Friday night.
Connecting for two home runs and five doubles, the Sailors jumped to an early lead, fell behind, then pulled away to remain undefeated at 4-0. The Bulls dropped to 3-1.
Sarasota's leadoff batter, shortstop Ian Desmond, hit the second pitch for a home run. Sarasota scored twice more before Bloomingdale responded in the second inning with all of its runs.
Paul McClay and Ryan Collins led off with singles and moved up with a Dan Payne sacrifice bunt. Scott Porter then doubled both home and came around to score on Mike Latuf's deep shot over the leftfield wall.
The lead was shortlived, however, as Sarasota rallied to tie in the bottom of the inning.
An error, a stolen base, and a passed ball advanced a runner to third. Bulls pitcher Ryan Strauss (six hits, six runs) nearly worked out of the jam by striking out the next two batters. He got two quick strikes on Sarasota rightfielder Dale Slimeck before Slimeck reached for an outside pitch and drove it up the alley in left-center for a tying double.
In the third, the Sailors chased Strauss and scored five times to put the game away.
"We just weren't mentally ready tonight for some reason," said Latuf, who had a double in addition to his home run. "But we'll bounce back."
"They really hit the ball well tonight," Bulls coach K.B. Scull said of Sarasota. "You can't take anything away from them. I thought we had a good shot when we went ahead but it just wasn't our game tonight."
