Saladino allows many to test mettle

These are only a few of the 2,741 reasons any baseball fan should annually catch at least a few innings of the Saladino Tournament.

By JOEY KNIGHT
Published March 22, 2007

BRANDON - The late-morning sun lazily ascends above Don Powell Field, the brisk air conveys the periodic ping of aluminum bat hitting ball, and the aroma of grilling hot dogs wafts toward the bleachers.

These are only a few of the 2,741 reasons any baseball fan should annually catch at least a few innings of the Saladino Tournament.

Now, we present Reason No. 2,742: Austin Browder.

And No. 2,743: Eric Doty.

Not to mention No. 2,744: Kyle Carasea.

None of the three - who pitch for Brandon, Gaither and Durant, respectively - were exactly conspicuous names on the figurative roll call of local high school baseball talent when the 2007 Saladino commenced.

Now, they just might be, all because the Saladino provided them the unique opportunity to pitch - a lot - in a prominent setting before a few scouts.

Browder, a 5-foot-5 freshman, tossed a complete-game victory against Wharton. Doty, sidelined 10 days by bronchitis, went the distance in a win against Brandon. Carasea, a converted reliever, tossed a five-inning three-hitter against Lennard.

"I think (the tournament) brings out the best in everybody," Gaither coach Frank Permuy said. "Everybody wants to play well in this tournament."

And for the most part, everybody does play. Hence the reason you're reading this week about unheralded pitchers such as Browder, Doty and Carasea, to name only three.

Every team plays a minimum three games. Two will play six. Management of a pitching staff, therefore, becomes an art form. At some point, the usage of an ace must be economized, the potential of a seldom-used youngster maximized.

"I think that's the whole game," Durant coach Ron Fussell said.

Browder had worked fewer than 10 innings all year when Eagles coach Matt Stallbaumer ran him out against Wharton. With the score tied, two outs and a runner on third in the sixth, he struck out the Wildcats' designated hitter looking.

The next inning, with two outs, runners at first and second and Brandon ahead 3-1, Browder forced a popup to the catcher to end the game. His partial line: three strikeouts, one walk.

"He was the kind of a guy we definitely wanted to introduce high school baseball to," Stallbaumer said. "I find myself already (asking) how quickly can I get to his next start on our schedule."

All because a window of opportunity was cracked at the nation's top high school tournament. In a regular week, when teams are in the throes of district play, Hillsborough sophomore left-hander Brian Dupre may never have gotten a whiff of the mound.

But in Tuesday's final round of pool play against Lennard, when the Terriers already had clinched their division and were preserving their more proven arms for the championship round, coach Ken White handed him the ball.

Dupre allowed three hits in five innings. Three nights before, Doty, a lanky junior making only his second start, struck out 10 Brandon hitters, including three in the seventh.

"He's being looked at by a few schools, and he's made some impressions on some guys here," Permuy said.

If this isn't the essence of the Saladino, then Lou Piniella is meek.

The tournament affords an unheralded few the long-awaited opportunity to pitch.

It only grows sweeter when a handful of those have the audacity to shine.

[Last modified March 21, 2007, 23:27:17]