Northpinellas: UCF shortstop wants the ball in his hands

University of Central Florida's Jeremy Kurella (Dunedin/Northwestern) compares playing shortstop to the quarterback position. "The shortstop is really in control of the field," said the 22-year-old Kurella, who was a preseason All-American choice by Collegiate Baseball. "I feel privileged that coach (Jay Bergman) has that trust in me."

The strong-armed Kurella, a shortstop since his Little League days, was a three-time All-Big 10 Conference player for Northwestern before transferring to UCF. He doesn't regret the decision to finish his playing eligibility at Central Florida.

"I was ready to get out of the cold weather, for one thing," Kurella said, "and my biggest fans are probably my mom and dad. Being closer to home makes it a lot easier for them to see me play."

In fact, it was his parents, Buffy and Tom, who introduced baseball and other sports to Kurella.

A veteran of the Little League World Series, Kurella honed his skills at Dunedin High School and in the area American Legion program. Last season with Northwestern, a .345 batting average, 36 RBI and 41 stolen bases earned him second-team All-American status.

This year, UCF attained its highest Baseball America ranking, eighth, and just completed a three-game sweep of No. 1 Stetson University. In a doubleheader against the Hatters, Kurella was 5-for-7 with 3 RBI, lifting his average to .382 -- second highest on the team.

"I've been very pleased with this year," he said. "In this last series, I had the highest average ever, and this season I have hit more home runs than ever. I've been either the leadoff hitter or second in the lineup all season."

Kurella's ability to switch hit is a definite asset, something he credits to playing tennis at the Dunedin city courts.

"Besides playing tennis two-handed on both sides when I was real young, my dad would pitch to me before the Little League games to warm me up," Kurella recalled. "He always pitched to me both ways."

This weekend's three-game series with Georgia State is critical to the NCAA Division I program's seeding in the Trans America Athletic Conference Championship in Jacksonville, which begins Wednesday and continues through Saturday. Those results, plus Stetson's series with Campbell University this weekend, will determine which team gets the top seed.

"We're tied with Stetson in the conference," Kurella said entering the weekend. "Our key goal is to make it to the College World Series."

Last year, Central Florida was a victory away from advancing to the Super Regionals.

BASEBALL: The Visalia Oaks' Matt Bowser (Tarpon Springs/UCF) hit home runs in two consecutive California League games against the San Jose Giants, raising his average to a team-high .336.

Drafted by the Oakland Athletics after his third year at UCF, Bowser leads Visalia in hits (37) and has 11 doubles, 5 homers and 20 RBI. Yale senior R.D. DeSantis (Dunedin) was selected for the Verizon Academic All-District University Division Team for the second consecutive year.

DeSantis, the Yale captain, led the squad with a .336 batting average and in hits (40) and was second in doubles (7) and RBI (18). The political science and history major has a 3.75 GPA.

The district team selections are put on the national Academic All-American ballot. That team will be announced next month.

First baseman Trevor Hall (Countryside) hit .371 for Saint Leo University and was second on the team in home runs (12) and RBI (58). The Lions completed their season with a 33-32 record, 14-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

Outfielders Josh Laws (East Lake) and Ian Church (Osceola) are batting .304 and .348, respectively, for Stetson. Laws, a junior who was a third-team All-TAAC pick last year, has collected 55 hits and 17 RBI. Church, a freshman, has 16 hits and 5 RBI.

Daytona Beach Community College freshman Joe Jiannetti (St. Petersburg) was named to the first team of the All-Mid-Florida Conference squad. He batted .376 and had 8 home runs and 6 triples.

FOOTBALL: Post-spring practice notes at Georgia Tech named David Schmidgall (Countryside) the unsung hero of the Yellow Jackets' offensive line.

Awarded the team's Most Improved Offensive Player in the 2000 season, the senior civil engineering major will start at center. Teammate Casey Loesch (St. Petersburg), a junior transfer from USF, is a defensive tackle. BASKETBALL: Jessica Webb (East Lake) received three honors at the University of South Alabama last month.

The senior, who has a 3.47 GPA, was presented the NCAA Woman of the Year award and the Jimmy Taylor award for academic achievement and shared the Shirley Holt scholarship for her team spirit.

Webb was the Jaguars' leading scorer in her four years and became the 14th player in school history to amass 1,000 career points.

TENNIS: University of Texas senior All-American Janet Walker (Canterbury) is among 64 individual selections for the NCAA Tournament in Athens, Ga., which is scheduled to begin May 23. Walker and doubles partner Vladka Uhlirova are among the 32-team draw. Walker was named to the first team of the All-Big 12 academic squad and to the first team in singles and doubles for the third time.

SOFTBALL: West Point's Nicki Robbins (Seminole) was named the Patriot League Player of the Year for the second consecutive season.

The junior outfielder hit .423 and set a single-season record with 17 doubles.

Florida Atlantic University pitcher Nicole Myers (St. Petersburg) was named the most valuable player of the TAAC Championships for the third straight year. Myers hurled a one-hitter with seven strikeouts in a 1-0 win over Troy State. She struck out 41 batters in 29 innings of the tournament.

Stetson senior pitcher Kelli Lightner (Clearwater) was first-team All-TAAC after posting a 22-9 record and two saves.

Despite a 1-0 loss to FAU in the conference tournament, Lightner recorded 14 strikeouts to boost her total to 221 -- a single-season record.

Amanda Bettker (Northeast) struck out 10 for the University of Maryland in a 5-0 loss to FSU. The junior is second on the Terps' all-time list for strikeouts with 228.

Kristen Keyes (Clearwater), a freshman for Central Florida Community College, was chosen the Mid-Florida Conference Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year.

CFCC's Diana Korcak (Countryside) and Lindsay Ijjar (CCC) were selected to the second team of the All-MFC squad. Brooke Massey (Clearwater) and April Coggins (Tarpon Springs) were honorable-mention picks.

SOCCER: Robin Confer (CCC/North Carolina) participated in the Boston Breakers' season-opening 1-0 victory over the Carolina Courage in a Women's United Soccer Association game.

Boston coach Jay Hoffman said Confer's ability to play wide on both sides, as well as up front, will be relied on during the season.

Back to North Pinellas news

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright

Special Links

Mary Jo Melone

Howard Troxler

From the Times
North Pinellas desks