Bulls take control in title game

By DON JENSEN
Published April 22, 2006

5A-8: TAMPA - No late-game heroics this time.

Ashley Hicks and Kristen Kelly made sure Bloomingdale didn't need any Friday night, leading the top-seeded Bulls to a 6-0 victory against host Wharton for the championship.

Hicks, a senior centerfielder, went 4-for-4, and Kelley, a sophomore right-hander, pitched a two-hitter as the Bulls improved to 21-5.

"I told the team we needed to come out and play a good game," Bloomingdale coach Mike Clamon said. "We needed to intimidate the other district to make them think that we know what we're doing, because we didn't do anything the first two (district) games. We were lucky we won both."

Hicks, who beat Freedom on Thursday with a seventh-inning RBI single, was the catalyst in Bloomingdale's 12-hit attack. She had four singles, two stolen bases and fueled a five-run third against loser Mallory Schreiber. In the third, Hicks was the first of six consecutive Bulls to reach base as Bloomingdale took a 6-0 lead. Kayelyn Molkenthin, Hayley Gerun and Samantha Zanoni had RBI singles in the inning.

That was more than enough for Kelly (19-5), who allowed two singles with six strikeouts and no walks. Fifty-five of her 73 pitches were strikes as Wharton (9-13) advanced only one runner beyond first base.

"My arm was a little sore, but I gutted it out," said Kelly, who threw on back-to-back nights for the second time this season.

Bloomingdale took a 1-0 lead in the first as Laura Williams tripled and scored on a wild pitch. Eight Bulls collected hits with Williams and Gerun collecting two apiece.

Both teams advance to region play Tuesday.

[Last modified April 22, 2006, 01:39:14]