|
Mistakes cost Ridgewood in 3-2 lossBy JOHN C. COTEY © St. Petersburg Times, published May 8, 1998 Walking a runner after two were out (she scored). Letting a runner take an extra base because a hit wasn't cleanly fielded by an outfielder (she scored). And then doing the latter again, which led to another run. No, the Rams weren't perfect, and they needed to be against a St. Cloud team that turned mistakes into runs and then turned away the Rams 3-2 in the Class 5A North II Region semifinals at the Dog Pound. Despite the mistakes, though, the Rams had their chances. But terrible baserunning took them out of the game and today's regional championship. St. Cloud will meet Tallahassee Leon, an 8-1 winner over Middleburg. The winner goes to state. The Rams know they should probably be there. Twice in the second inning Ram runners tried to take extra bases on hits and were thrown out, killing promising rallies. And in the seventh, the most fatal mistake on the base paths may have cost the game. Trailing 3-1, Bethann Blankenship led off with a walk. She advanced to second on a wild pitch by tiring St. Cloud starter Christine Custer. After a pop out, Brittany Fischer singled to left. But as Blankenship scooted into third base, Fischer tried to take second base. The throw beat her by 5 feet, although she and coach Marlyn Bavetta said the second baseman missed the tag. Instead of runners on first and third with one out, who both would have moved up on the ensuing wildpitch that scored Blankenship seconds later, there were two outs. Brandy Krieg walked, but Custer was able to muster one more fastball, blowing it by Amy Birch to end the game. Custer's ability to muster the big pitch was apparent in each of the last four innings. She left runners on second and third base in the fourth and sixth innings, and got out of a no-out, bases-loaded jam in the sixth by retiring Ridgewood's 2-3-4 hitters on two groundout force plays at home and a strikeout. "She was tired," St. Cloud coach Mike Clark said. "We were blessed to get out of that inning. Bases loaded and no runs? That was the key to the game." 4A-North I: Citrus rallies to winGAINESVILLE -- Citrus has been in tough situations before but few tougher than this. Yet it didn't seem to matter to the Hurricanes, who still had outs left and a game to win. Trailing by four after surrendering seven runs in the top of the seventh inning, the Hurricanes (25-8) proved there indeed was ball to be played. And with all hope nearly lost, Citrus salvaged a 12-11 win over Gainesville Eastside with a gallant and gutsy 5 run-rally of their own in the bottom of the final inning. Brandi Farmer's two-out double pushed across the tying run, which set the stage for Laura Helt, who already had homered off Eastside hurler Alicia Sitren. However, weary of the junior right-hander's power, the Rams (17-8) decided to intentionally walk her for the second time in the game and pitch to Colleen Leddy (1-for-4 to that point). Leddy made Eastside pay for the slight, belting the game-winning hit through the gap and allowing Farmer to sprint home easily from second. "It never should have come to that," Larry Bishop said. "I think, going into the top of the seventh, we thought we were going to just breeze through it. We got over confident and relaxed and they hit the ball. And things happen when you hit the ball.' Citrus was well aware of that after pounding the Rams for 7 runs on 8 hits (including homers from Helt and Brooke Eadler) through the first six innings. But the Hurricanes fell flat in the seventh committing five errors as they allowed the Rams to rally for seven runs and take an 11-7 lead. Still, while there were a few desperate looks in the Hurricanes' dugout, there were no tears. Citrus hit Sitren well throughout the game and hit her again in the seventh. Citrus put its first four runners on base (a fielder's choice gave the Rams one out) before an error by Eastside shortstop Ruth Findley allowed two runs to score. Molly Keating's sacrifice fly scored Melody Fedor, pulling Citrus within one. Farmer and Leddy did the rest. -- CAREY FREEMAN 4A-North II: Santa Fe stunsALACHUA -- A few crucial, uncharacteristic mistakes helped bring Lecanto's season to a halting, painful end. Playing with a starting lineup that included five freshmen and two sophomores, and only a .500 record, Alachua Santa Fe (15-14) stunned Lecanto (25-5) by earning a 3-1 victory. Santa Fe will play Wakulla tonight in the final. Wakulla beat Fernandina Beach 6-0 in the first semifinal game. "We don't have any seniors and we lost the first five games of the season, but these kids have really stepped up their game and improved through the season," Santa Fe coach Loretta Shane said. Lecanto pitcher Michelle Rowe came into the game with 224 strikeouts and struck out 10 batters Thursday night. But ultimately, errors and mental lapses turned out to be Lecanto's undoing. The Panthers committed three errors and had several base-running mistakes that ended key rallies. The most crucial mistakes came in the fourth and fifth innings. With one out and runners on second and third in the fourth, Nicole Robinson bunted and designated hitter Loran Vybiral headed for home, but got caught in a rundown and was thrown out in a close call at third. In the fifth, Marin Istban singled and Gina Pepe doubled to give Lecanto two runners on base with one out. The next batter, Rowe, reached first on a fielder's choice, but Istvan attempted to go home and was thrown out at the plate. Lecanto ended both innings with runners in scoring position, but did not score. "It (base running) hurt pretty bad," Lecanto coach Amy Lilley said. "They are a great team. Their pitching isn't so hot, but their defense is just as good as Citrus."
Business |
Citrus |
Commentary |
Entertainment
|
Home
T. CLOUD -- Little mistakes, strangers to Ridgewood in recent weeks, reintroduced themselves Thursday night.
