ST. LEO - What better way to forget about a seven-game losing skid than to win twice in one day.
By STEVE LEE
Published May 4, 2004
That's what the Saint Leo baseball team did April 24 with a sweep of Lynn, winning 7-3 and 5-3.
"It was big," Saint Leo coach Ricky Ware said of the sweep. "At least getting the first game was huge. Winning the second one was even better."
Saint Leo then lost 6-2 to Tampa on April 27 with Derrick McNeil (Land O'Lakes) pacing the Lions with his team-leading 10th home run. McNeil also has 28 RBIs, second behind teammates Chris Germano and Julian Davis, who share the lead with 30.
At 23-24 and 9-9 in the Sunshine State Conference, the Lions are a long shot for a playoff berth. While Ware would like nothing more than for his team to play in the postseason, he is equally encouraged at improving on last season's 19 wins.
"We're all trying to get better. Not just the players, but the coaches, too," said Ware, in his second season at Saint Leo after replacing Eddie Stabile, who was fired two weeks before the start of last season.
Designated hitter Mike Stepp (Zephyrhills) contributed a double, single and an RBI against Tampa. Stepp is second on the team with a .340 average and has a team-leading 16 doubles.
SOFTBALL NUMBERS: Saint Leo's softball team and several players achieved milestones in the final week of the regular season.
The Lions finished 36-22, a 12-game improvement over last season, closing out the season April 27 with 5-4 and 11-3 wins against Eckerd.
Individually, Saint Leo had a .400 hitter and 20-game winner.
Denyve Duncan went 6-for-8 in the doubleheader against Eckerd to finish with a .403 average. That earned the junior second baseman SSC player of the week honors for the second time this season.
Katie Heintz, a sophomore pitcher, posted a 20-11 record with a 0.77 ERA. Heintz earned both wins against Eckerd, including the opening game in relief of starter Heather Gamlin.
Gamlin, a junior, also had a winning record - 16-11 with a 1.37 ERA.
INDUCTED AGAIN: Norm Kaye, Saint Leo's former athletic director and men's basketball coach, is now a three-time Hall of Famer.
Kaye, already a member of the Saint Leo and SSC Hall of Fame, was inducted Saturday into the Illinois Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame along with his 1961-62 Lincoln College team that earned a Division II national championship berth.
Kaye is a founder of the SSC and was the conference's first commissioner.
