West Pasco eager to crown another district champion

Dave Treloar's squad is coming off a 20-2 victory over Dunedin and plays undefeated Clearwater tonight in its final game of pool play.

By JOHN C. COTEY
Published July 6, 2007

It's 9-10 team has captured a District 12 title for West Pasco, and now the coach of the 10-11 team, Dave Treloar, is wondering if his squad could be next.

I'm liking this team, " he said.

Treloar's squad is coming off a 20-2 victory over Dunedin and plays undefeated Clearwater tonight in its final game of pool play. If West Pasco wins, it advances to the single-elimination portion Saturday and Sunday. If it loses?

Well, some complicated tie-breakers could still get the team through, as could a little help from rival Holiday, which played Clearwater on Thursday night to keep its hopes alive.

Treloar's team has won two straight since dropping its first game, and in the win over Dunedin got some big hits from Luke Heimann his grand slam broke it wide open and pitching from Danny Sundquist and David Treloar.

Treloar said he knew his team could hit, but wondered if he had the arms when the tournament began. But Alex O'Neal, who pitched well in West Pasco's only loss but was bitten by errors, has been solid, as has Sundquist, Heimann and David Treloar.

"Going into this, I didn't know if had enough pitching, but now I think I have more good arms than most teams, " Treloar said.

O'Neal will start tonight against Clearwater.

OUT OF THE POOL: Holiday's juniors made it out of pool play and took on Clearwater Thursday night in single-elimination action, but were shorthanded with one of their key players on vacation.

Joey Koehler, who pitched a one-hitter against West Pinellas to give Holiday its last win, won't be available. But coach Bill Sorrick liked his team's chances against Clearwater, which was 3-0 and has been dominant.

"We have a good team, " Sorrick said. "We were built for speed and we have some good kids."

HANGING ON: Dade City and Land O'Lakes squared off Thursday night in the 11-12 semifinals for District 25, with both hoping to get a rematch with a New Tampa team that has been tough to stop.

Dade City is 4-1, losing to New Tampa 12-4. But the team got a shutout from pitcher Jamal Roberts against Antioch in its last game, and coach Chris Bious thinks his team's hitting has been among the district's best.

In five games, C.J. Brown (two), Jacob Guy (two), Trent Shoupe and Roberts each have home runs.

Land O'Lakes' only loss is to New Tampa as well. The winner of Thursday night's game meets New Tampa tonight at Temple Terrace Little League. But winning won't be enough in the double-elimination tournament - they'll have to beat New Tampa Saturday morning at 10 a.m. as well if they want to be champs.

Got Little League results? A good story? See an awesome performance? Shoot us an e-mail at johncotey@gmail.com and we'll make sure everyone enjoys it, too.

[Last modified July 5, 2007, 21:45:56]