It was only a matter of time before the Bulls eliminated Santaluces 3-0.
By MIKE READLING
Published May 15, 2004
VALRICO - Friday night's Class 6A region semifinal against Lantana Santaluces was exactly the kind of game Bloomingdale is supposed to win. It was a tight game between two future Division I pitchers where experience generally determines who advances.
The kind of game where a coach is supposed to be able to sit back and watch his seniors - players who have played in a state tournament before - take over.
That's exactly what Bulls coach K.B. Scull did.
Scull didn't let a few missed opportunities early in the game get his heart rate up. He just waited to see which of his seniors was going to step up that night.
Tony Thomas answered that question in the fourth when he belted a Joey Williamson pitch into the teeth of a stiff wind and just over the 340-foot sign in left-centerfield. The three-run shot was all Bloomingdale starter Ryan Strauss needed to give the Bulls a 3-0 win.
Bloomingdale (24-4) will travel Tuesday night to play Palm Beach Gardens for the chance to advance to the state tournament for the first time since 2002.
"We just look for one of our seniors to step up every night," said Strauss, who plans to play at Florida State next year. "Tonight it was me and Tony."
Strauss (7-1) took a no-hitter into the seventh before giving up Santaluces' only two singles of the night. He struck out the other three batters he faced that inning, preserving the shutout and finishing with 12 strikeouts.
Williamson, his counterpart who's headed to Notre Dame, was nearly as effective, allowing four hits and striking out six. His only problem was the fourth.
That's when he walked Brett Morris and Scott Porter with one out. He struck out Brandon Kibler and seemed poised to get out of the inning until Thomas drove a ball over the fence.
"When I made contact I knew I hit is solid," said Thomas, who's also headed to FSU and played last summer with Williamson on Team Florida.
Until that homer, the story of the night for Bloomingdale was missed opportunities.
The Chiefs (25-3 and ranked No. 1 in 6A) committed four errors in the first three innings. Two of those came in the second and allowed the Bulls to load the bases with one out.
But Williamson (9-1) wiggled himself free, inducing Kibler to pop to second and then sending Thomas back to the dugout with a called third strike.
The Bulls threatened again in the third when Mitch Rodriguez singled to center and advanced to second on a throwing error when catcher Pete Simon attempted to pick him off first. Seconds after Scull yelled to Rodriguez to think about scoring on a single, Paul McClay laced one to rightfield.
The wind knocked the ball down enough that rightfielder Sean Conner was able to pick it up on the run and nail Rodriguez at the plate for the third out, keeping it scoreless.
The start of the game was delayed more than 45 minutes because the umpires, who traveled from Orlando, had to alter their route due to an accident that shut down Interstate-4 near Winter Haven.
