DADE CITY - Hernando coach Tim Sims and Pasco coach Ricky Giles have coached against each other for more than a decade. They have worked together at camps and clinics.
Leopards assistant Donnie Whitehead and former Pirates assistant Ruben Garcia played together at Saint Leo University.
The only thing that runs deeper than the connections between the programs is their competitiveness.
One of the North Suncoast's longest running rivalries will be renewed when Pasco hosts Hernando in the Class 3A, District 6 championship game tonight at 7.
Jeff Oleson's first-inning grad slam lifted third-seeded Hernando to an 8-4 victory over No. 2 South Sumter in a semifinal Wednesday. Casey Karppe homered twice and drove in five in the second game to lead top-seeded Pasco past No. 4 Wildwood 10-0 in five innings.
"For my coaching staff and myself, that Pirate right there is the rivalry game," Sims said, pointing to a Pasco logo above the concession stand.
Hernando (12-14) avenged two regular-season losses to South Sumter in which the Leopards did not allow an earned run by jumping ahead early, getting strong pitching from Andrew Boyer and James Johnson and making the plays in the field.
This time, it was South Sumter (12-10) that came unglued. The Raiders committed three errors in the first inning, loading the bases for Oleson. Sensing the opportunity, the third baseman smacked an outside fastball high over the centerfield fence to put the Leopards ahead 4-0.
"That's the time when it's really important to get the job done," Oleson said. "If they're out there making errors and their heads are down, you've really got to get it on them then."
Matthew Blanton had three hits and an RBI, and Boyer pitched three-hit ball over four innings. Johnson allowed two hits over the final three.
Pasco (20-4) was even more efficient, scoring six in the first two innings, including two on Karppe's blast onto the hill beyond the rightfield fence in the first. He added a three-run shot to right-center in the fourth, extending the lead to 9-0.
The game ended in accordance with the 10-run rule when Wildwood's Jarrod Lewis was unable to handle Julian Juarez's bouncer to third, allowing Sonny Glover to score with two out in the fifth.
Giles knows it won't be so easy today.
"When (Sims) puts a team on there, they're going to be ready to play," Giles said. "So, hopefully, we're able to stand up to the task."
