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Baseball team must stay focused
By CAREY FREEMAN
© St. Petersburg Times, CRYSTAL RIVER -- Take it from a guy who knows: The biggest hurdle Crystal River faces this week at the Dixie Majors World Series in North Charleston, S.C., might be itself. These words of warning come from someone who has been there before and has seen what can happen to a team that allows the spotlight to blind it. "They've definitely got the people in place to make a run, but how they handle the atmosphere will be key," said Hernando majors coach Tim Sims, who led teams to the World Series the past two seasons. "You almost have to experience a World Series before you think about going and winning it. You have to concentrate and prepare for what the World Series brings off the field. We kind of got caught up in it in 1999 (as pre-majors), but the next year, we went back and knew what to expect." That knowledge, and the resulting focus, paid off for Hernando in 2000 as it returned and won the title. Crystal River is looking to avoid the first-year distractions and claim a title in its first-ever trip to the World Series. The journey begins at 10 a.m. Saturday when Crystal River faces Lufkin, Texas, the team Hernando defeated for the title last year. Lufkin, which has won the crown four times, presents a tough challenge for a team making its first appearance. But it's a challenge Crystal River believes it is up to. Of the 11 players on Crystal River's roster, seven are first-team members of the Times' All Citrus/Hernando team, including Player of the Year Clayton Trenary. The team also is feeding off the momentum brought by new Crystal River High coach Brent Hall, who resurrected the program last spring and turned it into the area's best. "Everyone really looks up to coach Hall," said pitcher Ryan Lindeman, who allowed one earned run and struck out nine in eight innings at the state tournament. "He's been around the game his whole life, and anything he says I believe 100 percent. He really helped me with my pitching this year, and it shows." Manager Ed Stack also credits Hall. "I think what makes this team so special is that they really play as one unit," Stack said. "I think that's a tribute to the way they were schooled in high school this year. They came into this with a purpose. They came in to win a state title. But they're not going to stop there." Hall has been relegated to the role of observer this summer and has been very interested by what he has seen. "I think this is the next step for all of them as high school players," Hall said. "They came out this summer without their head coach keeping a thumb on them. And they matured, and they learned how to compete and win. "I would never second-guess them. They went down and beat a team filled with college players twice in the state tournament. I believe they think in their hearts that they can win. And I wouldn't bet against them." Nor would Sims, who believes the maturity of the team and the quality of its coaching could be the difference with regards to the myriad of distractions. "The good thing is they are a veteran team," Sims said. "They haven't been to a World Series, but their coaches know how to approach something like that. Ed Stack, Russ Lindeman and Bo Trenary (coaches) are a committed group, and that's a good brain trust to have." The players lauded the relaxed atmosphere created by the coaches that has created a positive chemistry among the players; even those -- Matt Maggiore (Citrus) and Jimmy Metz (Lecanto) -- who came from rival high schools. The team's strength is pitching. It has six quality arms, all of which saw action in the state tournament. Metz, who pitched a one-hit shutout in the opening game at state, has yet to allow a run, and the other five combined have allowed just three earned runs. On the offensive side, Jonathan Runnels leads the team in average (.632) and runs scored (eight). Marcus Galvain has 11 RBI and Trenary nine.
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