Chamberlain's players reward their coach's faith

With his team locked in a 1-all tie on the road against Venice before a vocal crowd, the Chamberlain skipper remained confident.

By Keith Niebuhr, Times correspondent
Published April 28, 2007

CLASS 5A

Chamberlain's players reward their coach's faith

VENICE - Some coaches would have been worried.

But not Bob Diez.

With his team locked in a 1-all tie on the road against Venice before a vocal crowd, the Chamberlain skipper remained confident.

That's because he figured it was only a matter of time before his hot-hitting offense took control.

"We had been putting pressure on them the whole game, " Diez said.

His instincts were correct.

With two runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth, the Chiefs seized command.

Pitcher Alex Hartshorn did the rest as Chamberlain advanced with a 5-1 win.

The Chiefs (27-2) finished with 13 hits.

The biggest might have been catcher Amanda Patrick's two-run single with no outs in the fifth, which broke the tie.

In the previous inning, a Patrick throwing error led to the only Venice (25-4) run.

"I said to myself, 'I've got to make up for the error, ' " Patrick said.

She wasn't finished.

In the sixth, Patrick singled again, bringing in the Chiefs' final run.

Almost every Chamberlain batter contributed.

Marissa Menendez and Samantha Holle each doubled.

Jessica Mouse had two hits and an RBI.

And Danielle Moreda, from the eighth spot, drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Hartshorn had a hiccup in the fourth but was otherwise strong.

She scattered six hits.

"This, " Patrick said, "is what we live for. These games."

Keith Niebuhr, Times correspondent

CLASS 5A

Newsome upsets defending state champs

LITHIA - Newsome had the tough assignment of going up against the defending Class 5A champions from Auburndale Friday.

It was up for the test.

The Wolves ended the Bloodhounds' season with eight runs on 14 hits. The 'Hounds made a couple of threats but fell 8-2 to finish 21-7.

Meghan Schultz and Jamie O'Hara led the 14-hit assault.

Schultz went 4-for-4 and scored a run. She had been out a week with a sprained ankle and wore a brace.

"I was very nervous tonight, not because of my ankle, but because Auburndale is the defending state champ, " Schultz said. "I didn't play last week and really was determined to play tonight."

O'Hara went 3-for-3, was hit by a pitch and scored a run.

"Before the game, our coach (Jessica Kowal) said we could hit their pitcher and encouraged us to just beat up the ball, " O'Hara said. "Our whole team put the ball in play all night."

Infield errors in the second inning allowed the 'Hounds to put a pair of runners on base with two outs. Wolves pitcher Ashley Stubbs then shut down the threat to eliminate the opportunity for Auburndale to score first.

"We came in loose, confident and with nothing to lose, " Kowal said. "On the other side, Auburndale came in as defending state champions and everything to lose. They seemed a little tight."

With one out in the bottom of the second, Schultz singled and Brittany Olsen pinch ran for her. Stubbs plated Olsen with a double to deep center for the first run.

Ashley Albanese doubled to get Stubbs in for a two-run lead. Stubbs scored her second run in the fourth and a third in the five-run fifth .

Terry Jones, Times correspondent

[Last modified April 27, 2007, 23:43:11]