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By JAMAL THALJI
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 17, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Ridgewood coach Larry Beets didn't play to win Monday night. He played to win next week.
Beets decided the perfect time to give sophomore right-hander Matt Laliberte a prepost-season test a week before districts was in the top of the seventh inning against Hernando.
With the score knotted at 1, he decided to rest Rams senior lefty Justin Libecap and handed Laliberte this perilous situation: Leopards leadoff man Drew Innes on first and slugger Dee Brown at the plate.
The result: Brown blasted the 2-1 pitch over the left-centerfield fence for his 10th home run of the season.
The homer sealed the Leopards' 3-1 non-district victory.
"I thought, "Let him battle up,"' Beets said. "He needs that kind of test before the district tournament. We all do. One loss there and you're out."
After dropping two consecutive one-run games at the Dunedin Easter Tournament, Hernando coach Tim Sims said he was pleased his Leopards finally won a close one and improved to 13-12. "It's great any time you get a win at Ridgewood," Sims said. "This is a tough place to win at. We came down here hoping it would be a playoff-type atmosphere."
Beets was thinking the same thing. Libecap (2-3) had been steady on the mound and recovered from a potential disaster in the first when Hernando loaded the bases and Innes walked for a 1-0 lead. But Libecap recovered, striking out six and allowing four hits. In the bottom of the sixth, Aaron McLamar slammed a double into centerfield, scoring Dave Hancox from first to tie it.
That was all Leopards starter Jason Dunn (5-3) gave the Rams (14-9) as he struck out seven and allowed four hits in a complete game.