The region semifinals produce joy and disappointment.
By ROD GIPSON
Published May 14, 2004
The two local teams remaining in the region semifinals Tuesday had similar situations but different results.
A Bloomingdale rally helped the Bulls win in the Class 6A playoffs. But East Bay's attempt at a comeback fell short in Class 5A.
Surprisingly down 1-0 with ace Allison Kime on the mound, Bloomingdale was forced to rally against Stuart Martin County. The Bulls took the lead for good on a two-run Tiffany Anderson double in the fourth inning and added the other run on a Kristin Maas single in the fifth.
Kime would do the rest. She struck out 14 batters to push her season total to 268. Now 21-0, Kime struck out five of the game's last six batters.
Bloomingdale (27-2) will travel to face Palm Beach Gardens (29-1) today with a trip to the state tournament on the line.
East Bay, meanwhile, came back from a 4-0 deficit, tied the score in the sixth inning but allowed River Ridge to add more runs in a 6-4 loss. East Bay (18-10) suffered from four errors despite a solid pitching performance from Ashley Urbanik, who had 12 strikeouts in the loss.
Armwood and Newsome both bowed out in the regional quarterfinals. Armwood lost 7-2 to Lake Wales, while first-year Newsome was pounded 17-0 by Bartow. The Hawks led 2-0 in their game before giving up seven unanswered runs.
BASEBALL: Bloomingdale almost routed Kissimmee Osceola in the Class 6A region baseball quarterfinals Tuesday night. Then the Bulls almost lost to the Kowboys in the same game.
In the end, Bloomingdale's big lead held off an Osceola surge and the Bulls won 5-4 to advance to today's region semifinal game at home. Bloomingdale (23-4) will host Lantana Santaluces (25-2) beginning at 7:30.
The Bulls had No. 1 starter Paul McClay on the mound, but it was timely hitting that led the way. Bloomingdale jumped out to a 4-0 lead by the second inning and appeared to be on the way to a rout until the Kowboys stormed back with four runs - three in the third and another in the fourth.
But the Bloomingdale bats had the answer in the form of doubles. Scott Porter, Tony Thomas and Brandon Kibler each had a double in the game and Mitch Rodriguez produced two RBI doubles. McClay (11-0) was the winning pitcher, giving way to Ryan Strauss in the sixth inning, who picked up the save.
Armwood, meanwhile, wasn't as successful in its Class 4A region quarterfinal at Winter Haven. The Hawks had some offensive output with a Kevin Clark home run (one of Armwood's two hits on the night) but it wasn't enough as they lost 6-3, ending their season at 18-8.
TRACK & FIELD: Tampa Bay Tech, East Bay and Bloomingdale each had athletes place during the Class 3A and 4A state track meets in Gainesville last weekend.
Bloomingdale senior Connie Fleming placed sixth in the 4A discus while Tech's Shenita Howell placed seventh in the Class 3A discus. Titans teammates Ashley Parson and Melissa Cousin also performed well. Parson was fourth in the 400 dash and fifth in the 200. Cousin placed seventh in the pole vault.
East Bay's Paige Williams finished fourth in the girls Class 3A mile while East Bay sprinter Stanley Suber was fourth in the 400. Stanley, along with brother Mykheal, Michael Verbosky and Mack Jean-Pierre placed third in the 4x400 relay.
SIGNINGS: Three Riverview athletes signed letters of intent to continue their playing careers in college.
George Gammon, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound offensive lineman, will play at Division III Averett University in Danville, Va.
Girls basketball player Ratisha Rumph signed with Barry University, and boys basketball player Stephen Walker will stay a little closer to home, attending Florida College.
