ST. PETERSBURG - Northeast picked an ideal time to break through vs. Southwest at the District 5 major baseball Tournament of Champions.
Trailing 2-1 in its final at-bat, Northeast scored six to win 7-2, forcing a decisive push game on Monday.
Southwest starter Tray Thomason was three outs from wrapping up the TOC title when control problems opened the door for Northeast. J.J. Knapp started the rally by reaching first on a wide throw to first base. He then advanced to second and third on two wild pitches. David West drove Knapp home with a ground ball to the right side of the infield.
"I told the kids to be relaxed," Northeast manager Pat Delmontagne said. "We've been down before and they came through big time."
Northeast then ran Thomason from the game, and tagged Will McBrayer for three runs on three hits. Andrew Punzack, Dalton Reynolds, Christian Colangelo and Shawn Delmontagne all had run scoring hits as part of the Northeast rally.
Through five innings Thomason allowed one hit and struck out four.
"He just threw good pitches," Delmontagne said. "He hit the corners and challenged us. We hit the ball and they made the plays."
Northeast starter Colangelo also had a solid game allowing two hits and striking out nine.
Monday's championship game being played at Northwest has been rescheduled to 5:30 p.m.
JUNIOR BASEBALL: On Friday, Northeast advanced to the District 5 title game by defeating Seminole 6-3. Kevin Tapp tossed a complete game for the win.
SENIOR B SOFTBALL: Baypoint forced a decisive game on Monday after defeating Northwest 16-15. Courtney Parker drove in the winning run in the seventh. The championship will be at 6 p.m. at Seminole.
MINOR SOFTBALL: Jenny Sittloh hit a grand slam in Seminole's 20-3 win over Meadowlawn. Sittloh also struck out nine and allowed one hit to earn the win and the District 5 title.
