Clinton's perfection at the plate lifts Seminole

Warhawk leadoff hitter goes 4-for-4, team defeats Mitchell.

By DOUG KATES
Published March 28, 2007

SEMINOLE - When the Seminole offense got its first chance to attack in extra innings, Warhawk fans hoped leadoff hitter Chris Clinton would do what he had been doing all night - hitting.

Clinton pulled through for the host team. His 4-for-4 effort sparked an eighth-inning rally to lift Seminole 3-2 over Mitchell in Round 1 of the Steve Georgiadis Tournament.

Clinton singled, Chris Calhoun singled, a wild pitch sent both runners up a base, then Bill Falasco ripped a hard single into centerfield to end the game.

"I was just hoping to get a base hit, or get on base and let the rest of the order hit me in," Clinton said.

"I was locked at the plate. Everything seemed to go right."

Mitchell entered with a 4-10 record, but proved no pushover for the 13-4 Warhawks. The Mustangs scored first and forced the Warhawks to rally in the third inning. Then Mitchell scored in the sixth inning for the tie and forced extra innings.

"We've been playing good ball for the last three weeks," Mustangs coach Scott Williams said. "Unfortunately, this is our fourth one-run loss so far this season."

Calhoun finished with two hits for Seminole and Zack Newman had two hits for Mitchell.

BOCA CIEGA 2, NORTH PORT 0: North Port had six base hits, two walks, two batters hit by pitches and one batter reach base on an error, but the Bobcats couldn't turn a single base runner into a run on the scoreboard.

Boca Ciega opened the tournament with a shutout.

"We didn't get any key base hits, but we got just enough," coach Lynn Barber said.

Northport had runners on second and third with one out in the seventh inning, but winning pitcher Kyle Smith used a strikeout and a groundout to end it.

"In the last couple of innings I had confidence in all my pitches," Smith said. "I threw strikes and my defense helped me out."

[Last modified March 28, 2007, 00:22:39]