In a three-team district, Land O'Lakes and Mitchell have no margin for error.
By GREG AUMAN
Published May 2, 2004
LAND O'LAKES - Gators coach Calvin Baisley finished his final postgame speech of the regular season by congratulating his players on their 16-8 record, then reminding them how ultimately meaningless it could be after this week.
"The first 24 games we played, really, were practice," Baisley said. "This district is three very evenly matched teams, so it's a crapshoot. And it's hard to beat a team three times in the same season."
His Gators will try to beat Mitchell for a third time this season in Tuesday's Class 5A, District 5 semifinal. If they do, they'll meet River Ridge in Thursday's championship and try to avoid going 0-3 against the Royal Knights.
Of the three, Land O'Lakes has the best overall record but mustered just one unearned run in two meetings with River Ridge, which secured its first playoff berth in seven years by taking the district's top seed. Mitchell went 0-4 in district but has won six of its past eight games overall.
"We'll take on the underdog role because we're 0-4," said Mustangs coach Phil Bell, whose team took a 5-4 lead into the final inning against Land O'Lakes last week only to lose 6-5. "The district is close enough that we don't have to play a miraculous game to win. If we play our ballgame against Land O'Lakes, we should be in the game and have a chance to win it in the end."
The competition is close enough that Tuesday's semifinal chess match started last week. Rather than give Land O'Lakes a sneak preview of a potential tournament starter, Mitchell gave catcher Josh Le'Roy his first start of the season, then mixed in three relievers, searching for the right combination to neutralize the potent Gators lineup.
Bell said he'll start Derek Shaw on Tuesday, with his most successful pitcher, Jake Knight (5-1) as his first option in the bullpen. Baisley has not decided who he'll counter with, but the Mustangs have seen and lost to both of his top two starters, Jonathan Zunz and Jeff Bloomer.
"Whoever we throw is going to give us a chance to win," Baisley said. "Neither one has been battered around, so they're going to present us with an opportunity to win, and it's up to us to step up and make the most of that."
Those two have been a large part of the Gators' success this season, combining for 10 wins, 95 strikeouts and more than 100 innings. That was expected, to some extent, but they've been pleasant surprises at the plate, with Zunz batting .320 and Bloomer .408, one of four Gators hitting .350 or better.
Baisley said both will likely be used Tuesday; without a semifinal win, there is nothing to save pitchers for but next season. Both teams will have their pitchers on a short leash, knowing the distance between the bullpen and the mound is never shorter than when an entire season's success is on the line.
There's no shortage of motivation in either dugout, with Mitchell eager to make its playoff debut and Land O'Lakes hoping to avenge two regular-season losses to River Ridge. The Knights have a first-round bye, but that means a week off with no games and a bad taste in their mouth from lopsided losses to Wesley Chapel and Hudson this week.
Of course, talk of River Ridge will have to wait a few days, for both the Mustangs and Gators.
"The priority is getting past Tuesday," Baisley said. "Sure, we'd like to play River Ridge again because we'd like to get to the finals. We want to win, get in the playoffs, and then we'll worry about Thursday's game."
