Pasco rolls behind ace Brown

By MIKE TOMPKINS
Published April 21, 2005

DADE CITY - In a pivotal Sunshine Athletic Conference matchup and a battle of southpaw starters, Dominic Brown and Pasco cruised past Jonathon Cornelius and Land O'Lakes 9-3 on Wednesday.

Brown pitched a complete game, allowing three runs on five hits, while walking five and hitting a batter. The junior struck out six in improving to 8-0.

"I can't ask for anything better," Pirates coach Ricky Giles said. "These kids fight day in and day out. I can't complain."

Pasco (16-3) jumped on the board first in the second. After a leadoff double by Brown, Zach Maggard laid down a bunt down the third-base line. Cornelius fielded the ball and attempted to nail Brown at third, unsuccessfully. Jaime Cruz then hit a flyball to leftfield, allowing Brown to score, giving the Pirates a 1-0 lead. The Pirates added another run on a run-scoring single from Casey Karppe in the third.

Pasco continued its onslaught in the fourth, garnering two more runs off Cornelius (4-2) and the Gators. With one out, Kenneth Statham's double scored Cruz, and, after another out, Mike Onyskin's double knocked in Statham. The Pirates chased Cornelius in the fifth, when, following a hit batter, Karppe put a coat on Cornelius' hanger, giving the Pirates a 6-0 cushion with his county-leading eighth home run of the year. Relief pitcher Eli Jones didn't fare much better, giving up three more runs. Cornelius gave up six runs on eight hits, hit a batter and struck out three in four-plus innings.

Land O'Lakes (12-6) finally manufactured some runs in the sixth. With one out, Anthony Santa singled up the middle. Danny Poletti followed suit with a single, before Ross Hughes drove a 2-2 fastball over the right-center fence for a three-run home run, his third of the year.

INVERNESS - Randy Hernandez hit a game-ending two-out double into right-center in the 11th inning to drive in Stephen Powell and give Citrus a 6-5 win over Crystal River.

Hernandez was 3-for-7 with the RBI. Powell, who picked up the victory in relief, singled with one out, then raced home from first base to win the game.

Crystal River used five pitchers, with R.J. Cummins (5-2) taking the loss.

In the early going, it was a back-and-forth contest. Crystal River's Heath Frederick walked in the first inning and scored as Todd Bayer reached on an error. Citrus (13-8, 7-3 4A-9) tied it when Matt Lehman singled and Nick DelGuidice doubled to score Lehman.

Pirate Matt Schrantz, who was 4-for-5 with three RBIs, singled in two runs in the second inning. Citrus's Train Shinn jacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 3. In the fourth, Frederick reached when he was hit by a pitch, then scored when Cummins reached on an error. Citrus answered when Nick Van Gorder scored on a bases-loaded walk by Lehman. Frederick scored his third run in the ninth. He walked and scored on Schrantz's hit. Citrus tied it in the ninth, when Van Gorder singled and scored on Joey Budnick's RBI single.

Crystal River (10-8, 5-6) hosts Leesburg at 7 p.m. Friday.

rr - LARRY BUGG, Times correspondent

[Last modified April 21, 2005, 01:23:16]