Leopards quickly figure out opposing pitcher

By KELLIE DIXON
Published April 4, 2007

SPRING HILL - Hernando's Alex Gaffney had two strikes against her and a couple of foul tips as she choked up on the bat and waited for Springstead pitcher Becky Powell to release.

For the first two innings, Powell befuddled the Hernando batters with her rise ball.

Gaffney, like her teammates, knew it was coming. She just had to adjust if she saw it.

No problem.

Gaffney cracked the next pitch she saw into shallow leftfield, scoring two runners and setting the tone for Hernando en route to its 3-0 win Tuesday.

"After the first inning, we all decided to move up in the box and get out early on it," said Gaffney, who was batting .389 entering the game.

Hernando 17-5, 10-3 Class 4A, District 8 was able to do more than just adjust to Powell's rise ball. The Leopards, all of whom have at least a year of varsity experience, capitalized on a couple of Springstead errors.

"You cannot give good teams extra outs," Springstead coach Craig Swartout said. "We gave them extra outs and they jumped all over us."

The Eagles (10-10, 6-7) appeared to be finding a rhythm in the sixth inning when the first two batters recorded hits. But the rally attempt was short-lived.

With the bases loaded and two outs, Hernando pitcher Ari Lowman struck out her sixth player of the game. Lowman has recorded 70 strikeouts in 89 innings this season.

Kellie Dixon can be reached at kdixon@sptimes.com or (352) 544-9480.

[Last modified April 3, 2007, 23:50:41]