No turmoil here for Cougars

Countryside thrashes host Dunedin 14-6 in the second round of the Dunedin Spring Invitational on Tuesday.

By BOB PUTNAM
Published March 28, 2007

DUNEDIN - The achievement is only cosmetic. It does not assure Countryside of a spot in the championship game or endow the Cougars with any special powers or privileges.

But it is sweet just the same.

Countryside thrashed host Dunedin 14-6 in the second round of the Dunedin Spring Invitational on Tuesday.

The Cougars advance to play Lake Lehman Pa. in the semifinals today at 5 p.m. Better still, Countryside is showing signs of putting a tumultuous start to its season in the past.

The Cougars lost their coach, Darnell Coles, who resigned two weeks ago. Jeff Davis has taken over in the interim, leading Countryside to wins in three of its past four games.

"I feel like the kids are starting to come together and are having fun," Davis said.

Countryside assaulted the Falcons' pitching, knocking out starter Cammeron Fisher in three innings and tormenting four pitchers overall.

Andrew Murray and Kevin Kunnen each had multiple hits and combined to knock in six of the Cougars' runs.

Matt Mooney, Tripp Alderman, Gabe Torres and Brandon Pederson also had at least two hits for Countryside.

The Cougars opened an 11-2 lead before the Falcons rallied with a pair of two-run homers from Clay Kollenbaum and Mike Kumbat to make it 11-6 after five innings.

That was as close as Dunedin would get.

The Cougars tacked on three insurance runs in the seventh to round out the scoring.

Chris Arata, who was making his third start of the season, went 42/3 innings to pick up the win.

"It was a complete performance from us against a really great team," Davis said.

CLEARWATER 7, TARPON SPRINGS 1: Steven Vick hit a triple and Tyler Griffith hit a double to lead the Tornadoes in a loser's bracket game. The Spongers' George Van Riper had his second double of the tournament.

LAKE LEHMAN 5, PALM HARBOR U. 1: Lake Lehman of Pennsylvania is starting its season off right, winning its second straight game of the tournament. The Hurricanes got a double from C.J. Tyrkala and a triple from Arik Tucker.

RIVER RIDGE 5, OSCEOLA 1: The Warriors were eliminated after losing their third straight.

Bob Putnam can be reached at putnam@sptimes.com or at (727) 445-4169.

[Last modified March 28, 2007, 00:38:40]