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Little league roundup

By GREG AUMAN, JOHN SCHWARB and PETE YOUNG

© St. Petersburg Times,
published August 7, 2001

Hernando Debs stave off elimination

The Hernando Youth League's Dixie Debs rebounded from a shutout Sunday to shut out North Carolina 3-0 and stay alive at the Dixie World Series in Spartanburg, S.C.

The Debs, who will play at 4:30 p.m. today in another elimination game, got dominating pitching from Christen Baldwin and struck for three runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Carol Russell and a two-run single by Scottisha Scrivens.

North Carolina threatened in the first three innings, stranding runners at third each time and leaving the bases loaded in the second. However, Baldwin struck out the side in the fourth and was in control from there on, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters she faced.

The Debs, who were limited to four hits in a 12-0 loss to Virginia on Sunday, got their first hit in the fourth inning but left two runners in scoring position. In the fifth, Hernando got singles from Baldwin, Russell and Scrivens to score the game's only runs.

It's the third consecutive year the Debs have represented Florida in the Dixie World Series, following a championship in 1999 and a third-place showing last year.

Dunedin rallies for second win

Dunedin improved to 2-0 Sunday in pool play at the Big League World Series in Easley, S.C., with a 9-2 win over Jefferson, Ind.

Dunedin, representing the South, fell behind 2-0 in the second inning against the Central champions before rallying for nine unanswered runs.

Greg Crawford tied the score in the fourth inning with a two-run home run, and two batters later, Mike White stroked a two-run home run for a 4-2 lead.

A triple by Kenny Holmberg led to a run in the fifth, and another two-run home run by Crawford helped break it open.

"He hit two bombs," Dunedin coach Dave Eggers said of Crawford, a Times second-team All-Pinellas outfielder for East Lake this spring who will play for Pasco-Hernando Community College this fall. "He's just really hitting the ball well right now."

Right-hander Josh Whittle went six innings for the win, striking out nine, and Chris Pachik pitched the seventh. Jon Shapland went 2-for-3 with a double.

Dunedin faced the host team, South Carolina District 1, late Monday night. Dunedin's final pool game is Thursday against Williamsport, Pa. The top two teams in the U.S. pool play Friday, with the winner facing the International pool champion Saturday for the title.

Senior baseball

The game was scoreless until the fifth, when Waynesville scratched across the first run Cody Rainer allowed in tournament play. Rainer had five consecutive shutouts entering the game, but he allowed a walk, a single and hit two batters, both with curveballs. A two-run home run in the sixth inning provided the final margin

Palm Harbor mustered virtually no offense, getting just a sixth-inning double by Ryan Harvey.

"The (opposing pitcher) was good. I've got to hand it to him," Palm Harbor coach John Petika said. "He changed speeds well. He had only three strikeouts, so it's not like he blew us away. But they made the plays."

Palm Harbor will play the loser of Monday's late game between Georgia and Texas in an elimination game at 5 p.m. today. Petika said Harvey likely will start for Palm Harbor.

"We have to win four in a row. We've got the pitching staff to do it," Petika said. "All four teams are good, so it's going to be tough."

Apopka rolls to victory

GULFPORT -- The drive toward a No. 1 seed continued Monday for Florida at the Little League South Region tournament, but the Apopka team is hoping that, of all things, its off day does not come back to haunt it. Florida walloped South Carolina 14-3 to remain unbeaten in Southeast pool play. But Sunday, it lost pitcher Beau French for the rest of the tournament when he broke his ankle in a swimming accident.

"It was just one of those freak things," Florida coach Ken Tapley said. "We'll miss Beau, but we can get it done with what we have left."

Florida's No. 3 pitcher, Justin LaFavers, gave up four hits and three earned runs in four innings.

Florida scored three runs in the first inning, four in the second and seven in the third to end the game via the mercy rule. In the pivotal third, 12 men came to the plate and four homered.

Jeff Lovejoy, Stuart Tapley and Brandon Brewer went back-to-back-to-back, and Tyler Scanlon added another home run. Overall, Florida hit five homers for the second consecutive game.

"That's unusual," Ken Tapley said. "But we've got a lot of guys who can hit it over that 200-foot fence."

GEORGIA 4, NORTH CAROLINA 3: Twelve North Carolina errors, including six in the ninth, gave Georgia the extra-inning victory. Justin Schumer (North Carolina) and Andrew Donovan (Georgia) pitched the entire game, combining to throw 289 total pitches.

TEXAS 12, TENNESSEE 2: Texas batted around in the first inning, scoring five runs en route to the mercy-rule win. David Alleman, Taylor Parr and Shaun Finley hit home runs for Texas. Tennessee committed 10 errors.

VIRGINIA 4, WEST VIRGINIA 2: A three-run third inning powered Virginia, which moved to 3-0 in the Southeast pool. Brian Smith picked up two RBI for Virginia, and Arman Moniri pitched three innings of one-hit relief. West Virginia plays Florida at 1 p.m. today in the final pool game.

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