Seminole wins the tournament for the fifth consecutive season by beating Tarpon 10-0.
By JEFF BERLINICKE
Published March 27, 2004
SEMINOLE - It's tough living in the shadows of greatness, but the 2004 Warhawks are emerging from them.
In 2001, Seminole won the state and national championship. Only two players remain from that team, but the current edition is establishing a legacy of its own.
With a 10-0, five-inning victory over Tarpon Springs on Friday, the Warhawks improved to 9-2 and won their fifth consecutive Steve Georgiadis Tournament title.
"I don't think we're living in the shadows of the championship team," coach Scott Miller said. "We only have two kids left from that team.
"These kids are aware of the championship, but they have a completely different look."
Pitcher Phil Weylie said his team hardly thinks about 2001. Weylie struck out eight in five innings and kept Tarpon Springs (10-3) off-balance all night with his fastball and changeup.
"We're trying to establish our own identity," Weylie said. "We're peaking right now. Tarpon Springs was on a roll, and we just got them (Friday). We knew we could beat them if we played our game, and we did."
Weylie was dominant throughout.
"He's been solid for us all year," Miller said. "All of our pitchers have been solid.
"Weylie's the real deal. He knows how to pitch."
Seminole took a 4-0 lead in the first inning, including a run-scoring double by Weylie and a single that led to three runs after Tarpon Springs errors. The Spongers committed five errors in all.
Seminole came back with three runs in the bottom of the third to go up 7-0.
Weylie led off the inning with a single, and one out later, he moved to third on an error. Shawn Keill singled him home, and Ryan Reilly doubled home two runs with a shot down the leftfield line.
Weylie kept Tarpon Springs at bay. And the Warhawks put it away in the fifth when Nick Stanley knocked in two runs with a double off the leftfield wall and scored on Weylie's sacrifice fly to end it.
Seminole's Skylar Delgado, Ricky Nolan, Weylie, Keill and Cody Reed were named to the all-tournament team.
Tarpon Springs placed Tim Gayson, Matt Klimis and Bobby Hartman.
