Little League

Three area teams on the road to sectionals

By BRANDON WRIGHT
Published July 20, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Three local Little League baseball teams advanced to sectional play this weekend at Crystal River with wins Monday night.

Northwest lost its first game of the District 5 senior baseball tournament, then stormed back to win five straight, including a 12-2 victory Monday. Keith Staton picked up the complete-game victory, striking out eight. David Staton and Tony Crevello each doubled and Jeff Ballou finished with a pair. Shawn Hinton homered to end the game by the 10-run rule. Northwest plays at 10 and 4 Saturday.

Palm Harbor scored both of its runs in the first inning and held on to beat Dunedin 2-1 in a District 12 major baseball final. Connor Oliveri lined an RBI single in the first and Forrest Gibson followed with a sacrifice fly for the 2-0 lead. Casey Turgeon went the distance to pick up the win. Palm Harbor plays at 10 and 2 Saturday.

Hudson hit a pair of homers and scored 10 runs in the first inning of the District 12 9-10 final to defeat Clearwater 11-1. Michael Faulkner hit a grand slam in the first and Andrew Meyer, who picked up the win on the mound, followed with a three-run shot. Hudson plays at noon and 2 on Saturday.

BIG LEAGUE BASEBALL: Dunedin will host the Southern Region All-Star Tournament this weekend. Games will be played at the Englebert Complex on Friday and Saturday. Single game tickets for the tournament, hosted by District 12, are $8 and weekend passes $10.

PONY BASEBALL: The Pinellas Park A' 7-8 All Stars will play in the PONY World Series this weekend in Southaven, Miss. Pinellas Park A' won the District 5 Dizzy Dean Tournament and was runnerup this past weekend in the state tournament in Panama City, earning an invite to the World Series.

[Last modified July 20, 2005, 00:58:13]