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The ball may be soft, but the teams aren't

Citrus Park softball teams, which recently swept the countywide Tournament of Champions, are a force to reckon with.

By EMILY NIPPS
Published June 24, 2005

CITRUS PARK - Peeking inside Citrus Park Little League's trophy room or glancing at the signs hanging in the park, it isn't hard to guess who rules the ballfields.

"Our trophy room is almost all softball trophies," said 12-year-old Chelsea Oglevie, who pitches for the Citrus Park softball majors. "There's hardly any baseball."

They don't just dominate their own park. Citrus Park's softball program can also claim bragging rights in Hillsborough County after its minor, major, junior and senior teams all recently won the Tournament of Champions, a countywide tournament held at the end of every regular season.

It was the second time all four Citrus Park Little League divisions won the tournament. The last time it happened was 2002.

"It's a huge deal," Oglevie said. "That almost never happens because it's really, really hard to get to get all four teams that far."

Playing teams among a pool of Northside, Northwest, Keystone, Skyway, Interbay, West Tampa, Tampa Bay, Bayshore and Palma Ceia little leagues, the Citrus Park minor A's (ages 9-12) had the perhaps toughest path to the championship game. The A's lost 2-1 to Palma Ceia before coming back and beating the same team 12-11 in the final.

The major Phillies (ages 10-12) swept the five games they played tournament, capping a regular season in which they went undefeated. The junior Rays (13-14) came back from a 2-7 loss to Bayshore to defeat Bayshore 4-3 in the final. And the senior Rays (14-18) swept their three games to win their seventh straight Tournament of Champions.

"It was just fun being in the parks while the games were going on," said Al Bowman, executive vice president of Citrus Park Little League. "You could hear all the buzz in the stands that all four teams were about to win the whole thing."

Bowman credited the league's softball success to a number of factors, including the fact that it draws from a large area, the coaches and parents tend to be intensely involved and dedicated and the park often retains its skilled players as they advance to junior high and high school.

From the baseball side, the majors also won their division in the Tournament of Champions. While the Citrus Park baseball players are plenty competitive, Bowman said, competition is extremely strong in the rest of their district.

Players from Citrus Park feed into Sickles, Gaither and Alonso high schools, which have consistently strong softball teams.

Oglevie said that even though her minor team was dominant all season, winning the Tournament of Champions was an emotional finale for the Phillies. It was tough playing on Bayshore's fields in the final game, she said, especially since they had to play on a baseball field, which has grass rather than all dirt.

"We were so excited at the end," she said. "The coaches almost started crying."

- Emily Nipps can be reached at 813 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 23, 2005, 08:09:06]