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Hernando Today

Pasco Stays On Top

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: April 28, 2008

SPRING HILL - Different year, different game, yet same result.

Eighth-ranked Pasco High and Nature Coast Technical met in the Class 4A, District 8 championship tilt for the second year in a row Friday night at Springstead High.

However, this meeting was hardly a carbon copy of last year's 11-0 whitewashing in 4½ innings by the Pirates.

This time the Sharks hung right with the two-time defending district champions from Dade City, bringing the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh inning.

But when leftfielder Dylan Giella made a shaky catch of Eric Adams' fly ball, Pasco secured a third consecutive district crown, 3-1.

"We battled tonight," Nature Coast Head Coach Bob Shepard said. "It was everything you'd expect out of a championship game. Both sides got great pitching. A couple of bad bounces here and there were kind of the difference."

Well-placed hits

Aside from two solo home runs, neither team mashed the ball off Pasco (23-5) ace Dustin Brown or Nature Coast (20-6) southpaw Mike Adams.

Instead the Pirates got to Adams thanks to some well-placed hits, scoring in the bottom of the first on three straight ground balls that made it through the infield for singles.

Adams struck out the first two batters he faced before Jacob Schrader, Giella and Brown touched him up, the latter pulling the ball past the diving shortstop to plate Schrader.

Josh Johnson added a homer over the right-center field wall in the second before Eric Adams answered with a shot of his own to left-center in the third.

That marked the only hit off Brown (8-1) until Kenny Treverton's one-out single in the sixth. Brown then walked Brandon DeRespiris, bringing clean-up hitter Travis Murray to the plate.

The reining Hernando Today Player of the Year and third-team all-state selection laced a grounder up the middle, fielded by the shortstop for the start of a 6-4-3 double play.

"That hurt," Shepard said. "But that's baseball. They made the plays and they're the champs."

In the bottom half, the Pirates tacked on an insurance run, as Brown worked a leadoff walk and reached second safely when the shortstop bobbled Henry Johnson's potential double-play grounder.

That error proved costly, putting two on with none out. Adams caught Aaron Brandt looking at a called third strike, but Brennan Allen's grounder up the middle hit second base and bounced into the outfield for a RBI single.

Adams struck out Josh Johnson and third baseman Jack Diven made a sensational diving stab on Jaramillo's ball in the hole, throwing out the Pasco catcher at first to keep it a two-run ball game.

Chris Jones singled up the middle with two outs in the seventh to bring up Eric Adams with a chance to knot it up with another blast.

The Nature Coast designated hitter skied a fly to left-center, though Giella appeared to lose it for a moment prior to making the catch.

"I tell you what, I thought mentally we were prepared," Pasco Head Coach Ricky Giles said. "I thought we had a great district (tournament). Last night (a 5-4 win over Springstead) was a barnburner. But the kids stayed in there and they fought."

In a small bit of good news, the Sharks won't have to face defending state champion and No. 1 ranked Orlando-Bishop Moore Catholic in Tuesday's regional quarterfinals.

Instead Nature Coast travels to Harmony, who stunned Bishop Moore and topped St. Cloud en route to the 4A-7 title.

PASCO 3, NATURE COAST 1
                123  456  7    R   H  E
NCT        001  000  0 -- 1   3   1
PAS        110  001 X -- 3   8   2
NCT – Mi. Adams and Murray.
PAS – Brown and Jaramillo.
W – Brown (8-1).  L – Mi. Adams (3-2).
2B – Schrader (PAS).
HR – E. Adams (NCT), J. Johnson (PAS).
Records – Nature Coast (20-6), Pasco (23-5).
 
Class 4A, District 8 Tournament Recap
at Springstead High
 
04-21:
Gulf 15, Hudson 2

04-22:
Nature Coast 10, Wiregrass Ranch 0 (6 Inn.)
Pasco 10, Gulf 0 (6 inn.)
 
04-23:
Zephyrhills 10, Sunlake 0
Springstead 11, Hernando 2 (8 Inn.)
 
04-24:
Nature Coast 2, Zephyrhills 0
Pasco 5, Springstead 4
 
04-25:
(Championship)
Pasco 3, Nature Coast 1

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at (352) 544-5288 or online at cbernhardt@hernandotoday.com

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