CRYSTAL RIVER - Battling back from a 5-3 deficit, top-seeded Leesburg won its second consecutive Class 4A, District 9 championship, 10-7 against Crystal River Friday at Mike Hampton Field.
Leesburg (21-5) advances to host a region quarterfinal game Tuesday. Crystal River (17-11) plays at 4A-10 winner Ridgewood.
Leesburg took a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the first, with Jeff Bell's run-scoring single and Jeremiah Thompson two-run double.
Drew Austin put the Pirates back on top with a two-run double and James Kellogg drove in Austin for a 5-3 lead.
Leesburg came up big in the fourth. Crystal River walked three then allowed six runs on Stephen Malinda's single, Tyler Hill's three-run double and Jeff Bell's two-run double.
With Crystal River down 9-5 in the fifth, Lance Ives came home on a wild pitch, but Leesburg scored again to make it 10-6 on Michael Costello's RBI.
A missed double play and other major mistakes cost the Pirates, along with strong pitching from Ben Ayris, who entered in the fourth and whose slider helped keep hitters at bay.
Ryan Pearson homered for Crystal River in the seventh.
After walking Matt Schrantz, Ayris struck out R.J. Cummings and walked Robbins. With two outs and two on, Dustin Robbins came up as the tying run, but Ayris struck him out.
"I thought that was enough to set the tone for us, but it didn't," Crystal River second baseman Heather Frederick said about Pearson's homer. "Their pitcher had a good slider. He hid it well, you really couldn't see it."
