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By SCOTT PURKS
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 9, 2001
TAMPA -- Just about every story line imaginable was packed into Tuesday's Class 3A, Region 3 final at Tampa Catholic, where in the bottom of the 12th inning after 31/2 hours, TC defeated Avon Park 5-4.
Highlights included critical errors (three of Avon Park's runs were unearned), 18 stranded Avon Park runners, tired pitchers, defensive gems, a run in the bottom of the seventh to send the game into extra innings, and, of course, heroes.
The brightest star? A strong argument could be made for Crusaders freshman Charles Cleveland, who after making an error on a grounder in the fourth inning that led to three Avon Park runs, came back with a vengeance.
Not only did he get a hit to keep the seventh-inning rally alive, but he came in to relieve starter Tony Moscato in the eighth and threw four scoreless innings. And he did it after only three days of rest following Friday's complete-game victory.
"In the eighth I asked (Cleveland), do you want the ball or not?" TC coach Chuck Yingling said. "And he said, "Yeah, I want to make up for that mistake I made.'
"The last thing he wanted was to lose after that error. And well, look what he did. I tell you what, (Cleveland) is the gutsiest player in the world."
Gutsy indeed. In three of his four innings on the mound, Avon Park got the leadoff hitter on base, and twice loaded the bases. In the 10th, the Red Devils (19-11) loaded the bases with no outs, but Cleveland and TC made three solid defensive plays to escape unscathed.
"Leaving men on base has been our problem all year," said Avon Park coach Mort Jackson. "We've lost seven one-run games because we left runners on base. It killed us today."
In the end, TC's Robert Valiente hit a ball high to centerfield and Craig Corrado tagged up and scored the winning run.
The victory earns Tampa Catholic (25-5) another trip to the state tournament, where it has won eight titles, tying the Crusaders for the second-most in Florida history with Avon Park and Miami Westminster Christian.
TC will play its state semifinal Wednesday at Legends Field against Marianna, a 2-1 winner over Jacksonville Bolles.