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Seminole brushes aside adversity

By PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 13, 2001

SEMINOLE -- If ever Seminole were vulnerable, it was Thursday, right?

The Warhawks, playing without All-Americans Bryan Bass and Ryan Dixon, who are lost for the season, and veteran second baseman Jon Riggleman, out with a recurring hamstring injury, were up against crosstown rival Osceola, winner of five in a row. Seminole's reaction? Big deal. The Warhawks jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first inning and rode the pitching of T.J. Large to a 9-0 win in the final of the Steve Georgiadis Tournament.

Seminole (12-10) is 22-0 on the field this season but forfeited 10 games for using an ineligible player, Bass. It outscored three opponents 28-1 in defending their tournament title.

"That's the mark of a good team. Anybody can have a lot of talent, but you can't expect to not have a few bumps in the road," Seminole coach Scott Miller said. "The guys that have been waiting for a chance have gotten it, and they've done a nice job."

After getting the first two outs in the bottom of the first, Osceola starter Mike Sloan got in trouble. A rocket off the bat of Casey Kotchman nearly decapitated Sloan, and then he walked two batters to load the bases.

Phil Stillwell fouled off several nasty curveballs before slicing a double over third base for a 2-0 lead, and Errol Blumer doubled in two more to make it 4-0.

It was much more than Large (8-0) needed. The senior, who shut out St. Petersburg to open the tournament, had seven strikeouts in six innings while allowing three hits and walking none. He is 15-0 in the past two seasons.

"I just went out there and did my thing," said Large, who was named tournament MVP. "The big thing was not walking anybody. I just felt good."

The Warhawks even had some good luck. With an Osceola (13-10) runner on base in the second, a line drive by Sloan caromed off the glove of the third baseman, Blumer, and went right to the shortstop, Stillwell, who caught it and doubled off the runner.

"(Seminole's) a solid team all the way around, and they had some breaks that went their way," Osceola coach Chris Wisman said. "We love to play against them. Our kids look forward to it."

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