Zephyrhills: A long way, finally back at state

The Bulldogs revert back to home-run bashing and set a state record to top Sebring 6-3 for first state trip since 1970.

By JOHN C. COTEY

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 10, 2000

ZEPHYRHILLS -- In recent weeks, Zephyrhills has shown that it can wins games without the long ball. It can manufacture runs. It can win games on the basepaths. It can win games with pitching.

But when the Bulldogs need to, they can still resort to their old ball-bashing ways.

Behind three clutch homers, the Bulldogs beat Sebring 6-3 in the Class 4A, Region 2 championship at John F. Clements Field Tuesday night, set the state home run record at 63 and advanced to the state final four.

The Bulldogs (31-2), ranked No. 8 in the country by Baseball America, will meet Jacksonville Bishop Kenny, ranked No. 2, on Wednesday at Legends Field in Tampa. In the other semifinal, Tampa Jesuit, whom Zephyrhills beat 7-0 earlier this year, will play Royal Palm Beach.

It will be the Bulldogs' first trip to the final four since they lost in the Class B semifinals in 1970. Last year, they lost in the regional final.

"This is four years coming," said senior shortstop Graham Taylor. "We had a goal at the beginning of the season and now we're there."

The Bulldogs will probably arrive in Tampa about the same time Brett Cimorelli's second home run lands. The pitcher's 16th homer of the year, a solo shot to dead center, was perhaps his most prodigious of the season, and it gave Zephyrhills a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

"Man, he got all of that one," said rightfielder Danny Wardell, who threw out a baserunner at the plate in the third inning. "That was wayyyyyy out of here."

While the second homer was the game-winner, the first seemed to put a charge into the crowd and the Zephyrhills bench. After Sebring had taken a 2-0 lead in the second on four hits, Cimorelli's two-run shot tied the score at 2 in the third inning, scoring Brooks Boyette.

After a Mike Stepp double and an error, Jose Cuevas grounded a single to left to score another run and take a 3-2 lead.

"That home run is what really gave us the boost," said leftfielder Jossie Aponte. "He's always doing stuff like that. I thought he might. He hit eight out that I counted in batting practice. He was feeling pretty good."

The scrappy Blue Streaks (17-15) rallied to tie the score in the fourth on a single, a sacrifice bunt and Patrick Murphy's RBI single.

But if invigorated by Cimorelli's first blast, the Bulldogs were nudged into sheer bedlam after his second.

Still, Sebring would not go down easily, as Justin Biance walked and stole second in the sixth inning with one out.

On Patrick Murphy's routine grounder to second, however, Biance returned to second only to break for third once Taylor threw to first. He was an easy out for Cuevas, who rifled a throw to Stepp for the tag.

It was the third base-running blunder by Sebring, who had a runner ill-advisedly try to score from second on an error by Stepp, and another picked off by Cimorelli in the first inning.

Biance was Sebring's last baserunner and last hope. In the bottom of the sixth, Cuevas led off with a line shot homer, his second of the year, and Taylor singled and came around to score on Wardell's hit to make it 6-4.

Cimorelli, who gave up nine hits and was hit as hard as he had been all season, retired the side in seventh to cap the win and improve to 10-0 on the year.

He will start Wednesday for the Bulldogs.

© St. Petersburg Times. All rights reserved.