Durant edges Sarasota in semis

By ROD GIPSON
Published April 19, 2006

RIVERVIEW - Sarah DeMuth limited Sarasota to three hits and kept the Sailors from scoring any runs after the one she allowed in the first inning. But it took a home run from DeMuth, Durant's starting pitcher, to help lift the Cougars to a 2-1 victory against Sarasota in the semifinals of the district tournament Tuesday.

Durant, 19-4 and the top seed, advances to face Sarasota Riverview, the No. 3 seed, Thursday at 7 p.m. in the championship. Sarasota Riverview earned its trip to the title game after routing Lakeland 10-0 in five innings.

Durant, however, did not have as easy a time with its opponent.

The Cougars fell behind in the first inning as Sarasota's Katy Haab reached base on a walk and later scored on a single to right from Andrea Chidester.

The Sailors missed out on another scoring opportunity in the first when Emily Pribble overran third base and was tagged out.

Durant tied the score an inning later in dramatic fashion, with Kelsey Horton scoring from third on a squeeze bunt by Cassie Ellington.

DeMuth and Sarasota pitcher Kellie Sirus dueled for much of the game. Sirus, however, made one mistake - giving up a first-pitch home run to DeMuth in the fourth inning that cleared the left-centerfield wall.

Sirus threw four innings, allowing four hits while striking out five Cougars. DeMuth improved to 8-0 on the season with her complete-game win, striking out four along the way.

TAMPA - Cambridge had no trouble advancing to the championship game, routing Citrus Park Christian 20-0 in the semifinals Tuesday. Cambridge collected 13 hits total and had a 10-run second inning that broke the game open.

Valerie Kessel hit a third-inning grand slam for Cambridge, which improved to 17-4. Cambridge faces Tampa Baptist in the title game Friday at 5 p.m. Tampa Baptist topped Bayshore Christian 24-12. Tied at zero in the second inning, Tampa Baptist scored 22 runs in the inning to decide it.

[Last modified April 19, 2006, 01:59:13]