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Three bunts ice Cambridge's 2-0 win

TAMPA - Cambridge went to small ball to win a big game.

The Lancers (27-2) used three consecutive bunts to eke out an early run, and junior right-hander Samantha Becker pitched a five-hitter as Cambridge beat Lakeland Santa Fe Christian 2-0 Tuesday in a Class 1A, Region 2 semifinal.

The Lancers play Winter Haven-All Saints or Sarasota Christian on Friday for a state tournament berth.

"We did what we did in our last game (1-0 win against Out-of-Door)," Cambridge coach Raymond Tapia said. "We played small ball and managed to get a key run."

The Lancers got out of three jams in the first six innings. Becker added an unearned run in the bottom of the sixth off a Santa Fe outfield error.

Tapia went to the bunt in the third against loser Katie Mailloux, who allowed three hits. Lauren Simpson led off with a bunt single on a 3-2 pitch. She stole second and was sacrificed to third by Val Kessel. Brittany Williams' bunt to Mailloux scored Simpson.

"(Mailloux) was pitching high in the strike zone, and we were swinging at some of those pitches," Tapia said. "At that moment, I thought the bunt was the way to go."

Becker (17-1) struck out eight and walked two. She had help from her defense and some questionable Santa Fe baserunning.

In the third, Santa Fe's Jean Shenfield was thrown out at third by centerfielder Jessica Martinieri for the third out. In the third, Theresa McLaughlin was stranded at third after a leadoff triple. In the sixth, Becker threw out McLaughlin at the plate on a fielder's choice.

"I didn't pitch my best game, but I didn't need it with the way my defense was playing," said Becker, who threw 98 pitches, 73 strikes. In the final four innings, 40 of her 46 pitches were strikes.

- DON JENSEN

TAMPA - It was the bottom of the seventh inning, and relief was on its way for Academy of the Holy Names. Or so it seemed.

Down 1-0 against LaBelle, the Jaguars loaded the bases and centerfielder Dana Esposito was at bat. Three pitches in, LaBelle pitcher Amanda Atun was behind 3-0 in the count and began to blink back tears.

The Cowboys (20-7) rushed to the mound and calmed Atun, who then threw two strikes. Esposito smacked a foul ball to leftfield, but it was caught by LaBelle's Kaitlin Marotti. The play ended the Jaguars' season.

"I was pretty confident they were going to tie it up," Holy Names coach Alan Peacock said. "What an effort by all of them. It was a great game to be a part of."

Jaguars senior pitcher Jennifer Jacobs (14-3) did not allow a hit until the fifth. In the sixth, she walked the first batter, Cori Ankney. Atun sacrificed Ankney to second with a bunt, and Paige Raulerson bunted and reached second on an error at first base.

With runners on second and third, Heather Raulerson's bunt scored Ankney. Paige Raulerson was thrown out as she slid home, and the inning ended when the next batter struck out.

In the bottom of the seventh, Jaguars first baseman Frances Jacinto singled to left centerfield. Valerie Martinez bunted and reached first on an error, and seventh-grader Kayla Suskauer bunted to load the bases.

Senior catcher Emily Rivard popped out, and with two outs, Esposito held off as Atun pitched three balls.

"I was like, "Oh my God,"' Atun said. "I thought I was going to walk her to tie the game and send it into extra innings, and then we'd lose, and it would be all my fault. So much was going through my head."

Atun composed herself to finish off the Jaguars (18-5).

- EMILY NIPPS

NEW PORT RICHEY - River Ridge ace Kiki Von Holt had never allowed four straight hits in a game: until Tuesday.

But Von Holt recovered from that stretch, which led to East Bay forging a tie at 4 in the sixth inning, and host River Ridge won 6-4.

The Royal Knights host Lakeland George Jenkins on Friday in a region final.

Von Holt (21-2) scattered seven hits, struck out five and did not walk a batter.

The tie did not last long as River Ridge (25-2) scored twice in the top of the seventh to account for the final margin.

Shauna Ward led off with a single and pinch-hitter Taylor Morris bunted, reaching safely on third baseman Laura Schiffmacher's errant throw. With one out, River Ridge loaded the bases when pitcher Ashley Urbanik muffed Meghan Chaple's bunt.

Ward scored on Janet Houck's single to right and Morris raced home on a passed ball.

"Our philosophy is to win the inning," River Ridge coach Ernie Beck said. "We didn't win that inning, but we came back."

Urbanik (16-7) struck out 12, but the Indians' defense had four errors. River Ridge bunted often with five runners reaching safely and two on errors.

River Ridge scored twice in the third on bunt singles by Stephanie Seaman, Chaple and Deanna Kiesel with Kiesel driving in Seaman and Chaple scoring on a wild pitch.

"I knew there were going to be a lot of strikeouts," Beck said. "The game plan was short game. They couldn't field a bunt."

Michelle Miller had the first hit of the game, a two-out double in the bottom of the second, and scored on Ward's bunt single.

Kiesel added an RBI double in the fifth.

- STEVE LEE