Surprising Citrus presents challenge to Lecanto tonight

Despite losing five starters from last year, the young Hurricanes are off to a 3-0 start. The Panthers, meanwhile, didn't play well in losing their opener.

By CAREY FREEMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 29, 2000

INVERNESS -- It's kind of scary when you think about it, especially if you are Lecanto coach Amy Lilley.

After losing five starters from a regional finals team, how could Citrus be this good -- 3-0 with wins over Wesley Chapel, Dunnellon and Leesburg?

Actually, there are a number of reasons, starting with a superb Little League program in Inverness and a junior varsity program that helps Citrus' younger players adjust to the high school level.

Yet even Citrus coach Scott Waters finds himself a little surprised by the torrid start of his young team, a team that seems to have lost little despite replacing most of its infield.

"Coming into the season and knowing we lost our entire infield, I had no idea what we were going to do," Waters said. "I came into the season with two outfielders, a pitcher and a catcher. So, at this point, I'm pleasantly surprised.

"They're young, but they've shown me already they can come back and play together very well. I'm very pleased with the mix we have right now. It's a very good mixture of girls."

Lecanto's Lilley, whose team hosts the Hurricanes at 7 p.m. today, isn't totally surprised by Citrus' success so far. Weary might be a better word for her feelings after a 5-4 loss to Ocala Vanguard in Friday's season opener.

She admits her team was a little rusty -- as evidenced by its 10 strikeouts -- and maybe even a little nervous in its first game of the season, but she's hoping things will change tonight.

"I don't know," Lilley said when asked whether her team could handle Citrus. "Not the way we played on Friday. We had 10 strikeouts and a bunch of errors. I'm glad we didn't schedule a conference or district game for our first game. I hope we play better than that (against Citrus). I think we just had some first-game jitters."

The Panthers had better overcome their jitters fast. Citrus is scoring runs in bunches, outscoring its competition by 26-6 in its first three games.

Of course, the Hurricanes aren't perfect. Three fielding errors led to three Dunnellon runs in their biggest test of the season, but Citrus answered with three runs of its own in a 6-3 victory. Sophomore and first-year outfielder Jessica Baum drove in the winning runs.

Baum is just one of several first-year players making a serious impact. Citrus would appear to be solid up the middle for some time with its freshmen duo of Alicia LePage and Mettina Maggiore, who have made serious contributions at second base and shortstop respectively.

In addition, the Hurricanes have been looking forward to this game for some time. While all three Citrus County teams have advanced to the final four in the past four years, the rivalry between the Panthers and Hurricanes has easily become the most heated.

"They're already fired up," Waters said. "They were talking about it last week. Hopefully, we'll play at the level we have been playing at, but with less mistakes."

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