Cougars overwhelm district foe Gaither

By DOUG KATES
Published March 9, 2007

CLEARWATER - A Class 6A, District 7 showdown between Countryside and Gaither turned one-sided Thursday afternoon as the Cougars brought their hitting shoes and surprised the Cowboys 14-0 in five innings.

Desiree Baker picked up the shutout with a one-hitter and seven strikeouts. She had a perfect game until Kristen McGrath's hard single in the fifth inning.

After the game, Baker also had a chance to talk about her hitting. In the second inning she crushed a home run over the leftfield fence to give the Cougars a 7-0 lead. It was Baker's second career long ball.

"I was just thinking get a base hit and get on base, but I got my pitch," the junior said.

Gaither is in the middle of a busy week and asked freshman Morgan Grove to start on the mound.

She was greeted by leadoff hitter Ashlee Sismilich, who drilled a hit into leftfield and out-raced the defense for an inside-the-park home run.

"Anytime you can score early, it's obviously a plus," Countryside coach Kaylyn Bayly said. "We came out, swung the bat and helped Des a little bit. She also helped herself out."

The Cowboys collected four errors - all at the shortstop position - by two players.

"Today we came out sloppy and didn't make any plays in the infield," said Gaither coach Al Alcala, who pointed out the game "won't be forgotten."

Gaither (12-2) defeated Countryside (11-1) 1-0 this season .

[Last modified March 9, 2007, 00:55:41]