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Cape Coral rallies for championship berth

The Florida softball team ekes by Simpsonville, S.C., to lock up a title showdown with Morristown, Tenn.

By JARRETT GUTHRIE
Published August 1, 2006

GULFPORT - Simpsonville, S.C., players sat at dinner Sunday night expecting to play in one of Monday's early consolation games after going 1-2 in pool play in the Southern Regional Softball Tournament at Arnold S. White Sr. Stadium.

But Little League officials informed them that due to tiebreaker rules (head-to-head results and defensive runs allowed), the team would advance to the semifinals.

In the top of the sixth inning in the semifinal against Cape Coral on Monday, and with a one-run lead, it appeared as if Simpsonville would advance to the final. But the Florida team had a different plan.

Down 3-2 and coming to bat, Cape Coral used a sacrifice RBI bunt by Shanelly Brown and a winning single by Dana Ruff to advance to tonight's final with a 4-3 win.

"(South Carolina) played with so much heart it was unbelievable," Cape Coral coach Nick Sozio said. "To be honest with you, if the last inning came down to who played with the most heart and the most intensity, it would have gone to them."

South Carolina struck first when Alyssa Davis scored on an error after reaching base on a double in the first inning. Cape Coral answered with two runs in the second, including an RBI single by Brown, who also scored in the inning. Simpsonville's Carley Hoover had a double in the third and scored in the inning and also had an RBI single in the fourth, scoring Olivia Trone and accounting for South Carolina's runs. Florida struggled offensively until the sixth.

"We are a late starting team if you look at the rest of the tournament," Sozio said. "But we were sitting in the fifth inning and we hadn't gotten that start that we usually do."

Ruff was the winning pitcher with four strikeouts.

In the second semifinal, Morristown, Tenn., defeated McLean, Va., 2-1 with two pitchers going the distance. Tennessee's Kendi King gave up just three hits and didn't allow an earned run, picking up the win. Virginia's Jessica Eidt pitched five innings, striking out two and giving up one earned run.

All three runs were scored in the fourth inning, with McLean's Jessie Straub hitting an RBI single to score Mary Spulak.

Morristown scored two in the bottom half on a RBI single by Sarah Collins and a sacrifice fly by Kenzie Mullins.

Cape Coral (4-0) defeated Morristown (3-1) 3-0 in the first game of the tournament. The teams will meet in the championship tonight at 6 p.m.

GAME BALL: Cape Coral centerfielder/shortstop Shanelly Brown was 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBIs, including a perfectly placed sacrifice bunt, scoring the tying run for her team.

[Last modified August 1, 2006, 02:48:09]