Pirates blocked from glass slipper

By CAREY FREEMAN

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 8, 2001

[Times photo: Kevin White] Cassie Pearson and Crystal River could not deliver a region title win despite jumping out to a 4-0 lead.

BROOKSVILLE -- The Cinderella story just wouldn't have been complete without a last dance with the prince.

For Crystal River, that waltz was the first two innings of Saturday's Class 3A, Region 2 championship, a 45-minute span when it seemed like the ball never would end.

The Pirates (15-16) owned a 4-0 lead on Hernando -- a team that had beaten them four times this season -- and looked to be on their way to the final four for the first time since 1997.

Then came the third inning. In this case, midnight.

One half expected Crystal River's big yellow bus to turn into a big orange pumpkin. Yet that was about the only part of the story that didn't come true, as it took all of three innings for the Pirates' season to come crashing down at the hands of the defending state runners-up, who amassed 14 runs for a 14-4 victory.

"We rode this hog as long as we could, and our time was done," Crystal River coach Laura Wingate said. "The Cinderella story is over, but they did good."

The Pirates showed no signs of despair after the loss.

After all, few -- if any -- had predicted a team with a losing record advancing to the regional final. But Crystal River defied the odds and their doubters throughout the post-season, beginning with a 7-0 clobbering of rival Citrus in a district semifinal and extending to wins over No. 4 Alachua Santa Fe (13-6) and Umatilla (6-0) in the regional tournament.

The story continued through the first two innings Saturday as the Pirates touched Hernando's Chrissy Hartley for four runs, but it ended rather abruptly when the Leopards rallied for five runs and took the lead for good in the third.

"I switched up the lineup to try to get some early runs, and it worked good for the first two innings," said Wingate, who moved Melissa Coburn from cleanup to leadoff. "Then, they just started hitting us, and we were a mess. They got hot and we cooled down, then they got us mentally."

Coburn led off the fourth with a double and advanced to third base with one out, but the Pirates simply couldn't get the tying run home. Hartley finished off Crystal River in order in the next inning, then Hernando piled on five runs in the bottom of the fourth and four more in the fifth to end the game.

Crystal River took the loss well, given the circumstances.

"I don't think anybody expected it, and it was a lot of fun and a good way to end four years," senior Courtenay Ryals said. "Once you get down by four runs to Chrissy Hartley, it's hard."

If there's a happy end to the story for Crystal River, it comes with the realization that the Pirates will return all but three members of this team.

Crystal River will have to replace solid players in Ryals (outfield), Jessica Wilroy (1B) and Rachel Miniard (outfield), but it returns both pitchers -- junior Krystle Cummings and freshman Cassie Pearson -- and almost all of its infield.

Wingate made sure to point that out to her underclassmen.

"I said, "You see them over there? That's going to be us next year," Wingate said.

DISTRICT 6 TOURNAMENT

• FIRST ROUND: Crystal River 5, Wesley Chapel 0.
• SEMIFINAL: Crystal River 7, Citrus 0.
• FINAL: Hernando 1, Crystal River 0.

REGION 2 TOURNAMENT

• QUARTERFINAL: Crystal River 13, Alachua Santa Fe 6.
• SEMIFINAL: Crystal River 6, Umatilla 0.
• FINAL: Hernando 14, Crystal River 4.

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