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By WAYNE GRUMET
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 9, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- In order to rebound from a 1-4 start, Gulf put together a four-game winning streak behind strong pitching and manufactured offense.
Gulf ace Joe Dan Fagan again gave the Bucs the pitching it needed against host River Ridge on Thursday. But this time, the Knights defense provided Gulf with the rest.
River Ridge committed three errors in a three-run third, and Fagan dominated the rest of the way for a 3-2 win.
The win tightens up the Sunshine Athletic Conference race as the Bucs (6-4, 2-1 in Class 5A, District 9) are tied with River Ridge at 5-1.
River Ridge starter Chad Justus nearly matched Fagan's effort, allowing three hits in five innings while striking out four. But Justus (1-2) couldn't get out of the third as his defense collapsed behind him.
"We just didn't execute out there. We made four errors tonight," River Ridge coach Jack Homko said. "Chad (Justus) didn't allow an earned run. His ERA is like 1.24 and they let him down again."
With two outs in the third and Johnny Wirick on first, Gulf's Joey Aldridge reached base thanks to a throwing error by Knights third baseman Tom Dillon. Nelson Rodriguez then sent a sharp grounder to Knights shortstop Greg Esteves. Esteves tried to get the force at second but sent the throw into rightfield for his second error of the inning.
Wirick scored and David Pirman followed with a two-run double to right-center.
River Ridge (7-3, 1-2 in 5A-9) was able to get to Fagan in the fourth as Esteves led off with a double just over the bag at third.
One batter later, Billy Phillips homered to cut Gulf's lead to 3-2.
Fagan (3-1) calmed down and didn't allow another hit the rest of the way. He finished with 10 strikeouts and allowed just the two extra-base hits.
"When Joe Dan gets on the mound, it's business. He knows what he needs to do," Gulf coach Shaun Wiemer said. "He makes every pitch count. He makes hitters beat him. He made them earn what they got." -- WAYNE GRUMET