At long last, good news travels fast for PHCC

By STEVE LEE
Published May 4, 2005

NEW PORT RICHEY - Pasco-Hernando Community College coach Tom Ryan and PHCC first baseman Andy Babij were at Land O'Lakes Wednesday, watching the Class 5A, District 5 tournament semifinals when they received good news on their cell phones.

The Conquistadors qualified for the state tournament, thanks to Hillsborough's 2-1 defeat of Polk, the latter dropping to fifth in the Suncoast Conference. That left PHCC fourth in the conference with the top four teams in the state's four conferences advancing to the state tournament (see accompanying box for details).

"We're going to states," an enthusiastic Babij said in the press box above the field she called home for four varsity seasons. "We're ready to show what we can do."

"On cloud nine," is how Ryan described his feeling upon hearing the news that his team qualified for state for the seventh time in the past nine seasons. "News travels fast, especially good news.

"You work hard to get there. It's a good feeling to know you're in."

PHCC (25-19, 12-12 in conference) played its final game April 15 and had to wait for 11 days to learn if the team qualified.

"The hardest part about anything is never knowing," said Ryan, in his 10th season at PHCC. "Now, the hard part's over. The waiting is stressful, but once everyone found out they were ecstatic."

The double-elimination series begins Friday and on Tuesday Ryan had yet to declare his starting pitcher for the opener against Gulf Coast, the Panhandle champion.

Most likely, it will be freshmen Sarah Anderson or Cassie Pearson (Crystal River). Anderson (11-9, 0.93 ERA) led the team in wins and had the lowest ERA among the team's top pitchers. Pearson, who tossed a perfect game in high school, went 7-2 with a 1.31 ERA.

Christine Bradshaw (4-1, 1.89) and Tracy Reinke (3-6, 2.05) also could see time on the mound.

Regardless of pitches, Kristi Langworthy (Hernando) will be on the receiving end. The sophomore catcher has a .276 batting average with 15 RBIs and eight doubles.

The Conquistadors' offense lacks a slugger, evidenced by Ebony Williams' team-leading nine doubles. There is balance, however, and Nakendra Jones is the team's most well-rounded player.

A fleet-footed outfielder who won a state title at Bartow, Jones has 19 stolen bases, one fewer than team leader April Slate (Land O'Lakes). Jones shares the lead in runs scored with Slate at 30 and has 17 RBIs, tied for second with Babij.

Slate has the highest batting average at .295 and is followed by Krysti DiMartino (Ridgewood), who is hitting .294.

Williams has a team-high 19 RBIs and Christina Carter (Hernando) has 16 RBIs and 23 runs.

We're basically a young team (with only four sophomores), but a very talented team," Ryan said.

PHCC never has won a state title and as the fourth-seed in its conference would be hard-pressed to rewrite history. The Conquistadors last appeared in the state tourney in 2003.

[Last modified May 4, 2005, 00:58:13]