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Hernando Today

Weekend produces two champions

DIXIE ALL-STARS BASEBALL

Photo by ROBERT CAMPBELL

Hernando AAA Minors All-Stars won the District 6 championship on Saturday. The team features: (front row, l to r) Sam Vidal, Dylan McMahon, Phillip Orlando and D.J. Orlando. Center row (l to r): Skylar Coleman, Joey Delgatto, Ryan Nigro, Scotty Bierwiler, Cameron Price, Price Sartor, Clay Everette and Travis Patrick. Back row (l to r): Coach Ed Ritter, Head Coach Bruce Price and Coach Dominic Orlando.

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By CHRIS BERNHARDT JR.

Hernando Today

Published: June 30, 2009

One team had to survive a marathon tournament interrupted by bad weather and bad lighting. The other barely had to break a sweat and won without taking the field.

They took two very different paths, but both the Hernando AAA Minors (ages 9-10) and Spring Junior Boys (age 13) claimed Dixie All-Stars District 6 championships on Saturday.

That means both teams are headed to their respective state tournaments, with the Hernando group going to Paxton starting July 11 and the Spring Hill crew bound for Marianna on July 18.

The Prices are right

Between rain throughout the week, plus a light malfunction that suspended a game on Thursday, the
AAA Minors tournament held at Ridge Manor Community Park dragged on longer than anticipated.

Hernando (6-0) actually had to win twice on Saturday night in order to claim the crown, downing Oak Griner 1-0 then Spring Hill National 10-0 in four innings.

Right-hander Price Sartor cemented his status as one of the unofficial MVPs of the tournament, tossing his second no-hitter against Spring Hill National while striking out 11.

He finished the tournament 3-0 and also recorded a save against Oak Griner, pitching the final two innings of that one and striking out five after Cameron Price allowed just one hit over four shutout frames.

"Those guys as a tandem were unstoppable," Hernando Head Coach Bruce Price said. "Both had a leg up on the competition I thought.

"Each game was a different animal. They played tremendously well. Pretty much mistake-free, I think we only had two errors the whole tournament."

Hernando already knows its next opponent, as it will square off with Havana at 1 p.m. on the opening day of states.

This marks the third time in four years that Price has led a team this far, with the previous two trips coming at the AA Rookies (ages 7-8) level.

"Of course the kids worked really hard this year," Coach Price said. "It's a tribute to these guys. Just having the kids come together as a whole, there were tough times in that tournament. I think these guys rose to the occasion.

"We look forward to going to Paxton. We welcome the competition and I think we'll fair pretty well."

Blowout, then forfeit

In the Junior Boys tournament held at Kenny Dixon Sports Complex in Bushnell, Spring Hill and Hernando were supposed to face in a best-of-3.

But after Spring Hill rolled in the opener Friday night, 17-1, an apparent scheduling miscommunication resulted in Spring Hill winning by forfeit on Saturday.

According to Spring Hill Head Coach Jim Keith, Hernando believed that the second game was set for 4 p.m. and never showed up for the actual noon start.

"We would have loved to play the second game and get the kids another game in," Keith said. "But the point is, they advanced.

"The kids played good. It was nice to see them come out with the fire that's going to be necessary at states. They played well, a good all-around game."

Despite the result of the district tournament, it was determined over the weekend that both teams would advance, meaning Hernando will continue on, as well.

DIXIE YOUTH LEAGUE BASEBALL DISTRICT 6 AAA MINORS (AGES 9-10) TOURNAMENT RESULTS
at Ridge Manor Community Park (double elimination)
06-20:
Hernando 16, Wildwood 0 (4 Innings)
HYL - Pitchers Cameron Price and Sam Vidal combined for a no-hitter; Price (1-0) worked first three innings, he fanned nine of the 11 batters he faced with two walks; Vidal pitched a perfect fourth frame with three strikeouts; Clay Everett led the 17-hit Hernando attack with a 3-for-3 effort with two singles and one RBI; Ryan Nigro went 3-for-3 with 2 RBI; Joey Delgatto went 2-for-2 featuring two doubles and 4 RBI
from the No. 8 slot; Price Sartor finished 2-for-3 with a double, triple and 2 RBI; Scott Bierwiler went 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBI; Skylar Coleman added a double and 2 RBI.
Spring Hill National 10, Wesley Chapel National 3
SH National - Starting pitcher Dominic Marrone worked the first two frames with four strikeouts against one walk and one run; Jeycris Delarosa (1-0) worked the two middle frames with two strikeouts, allowing two runs; Luke Laferty worked the final two innings with three strikeouts and one walk; Laferty paced the 14-hit attack with a 4-for-5 effort featuring two doubles and solo homer with three RBI; Stephen Augello went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and Bodhi Sbashnig finished 1-for-4 featuring a three-run triple.
Spring Hill American 5, Sumter 4
SH American - Starting pitcher Robert Bunyon earned the win working the first two innings, allowing three hits, two runs and one free pass; Jarrod Nesbitt worked a scoreless third and fourth inning, notching two strikeouts against one walk and one hit batsman; the team's third hurler, Devin Davis, earned the save working the fifth and sixth permitting two runs on one hit plus two walks; offensively, Dakota Blevens went 1-for-2 with a two-run triple in the second; Daniel Campbell finished 1-for-3 with a triple and a run scored; Zack Gates finished 1-for-2 with the game-winning RBI single in the fourth.
South Lake 15, Oak Griner 2
Wesley Chapel American 11, Ridge Manor 0 (4 Innings)
Bushnell 10, San Antonio 4

06-22:
Oak Griner 14, Wildwood 6
Wesley Chapel National 7, Sumter 5
San Antonio 11, Ridge Manor 10
Wesley Chapel American 4, Bushnell 3
Hernando 15, South Lake 6
Spring Hill National 11, Spring Hill American 1 (3 1/2 Innings)
SHN - Luke Laferty went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI; Cameron Sereda went 1-for-3 with four RBI including a three-run triple; Bodhi Sbashnig went 1-for-1 with two runs scored and two RBI; Sbashnig earned the mound win with four strikeouts and no walks across the first two innings.

06-23:
Wesley Chapel National 14, South Lake 2
Other games rained out

06-24:
Oak Griner 16, San Antonio 10
Bushnell 20, Spring Hill American 10
Hernando 11, Spring Hill National 1 (4 Inns.)
HYL - Price Sartor (2-0) twirled a four-inning no-hitter, recording 12 strikeouts, including 10 in a row against one walk, one run (unearned) and one wild pitch; eight different players had at least one hit for the winners including a two-run double by Joey Delgatto and a RBI double by Dylan McMahon; D.J. Orlando reached three times in three trips and scored three runs, and clean-up batter Scott Bierwiler finished 1-for-1 with a game-high three runs batted in with a sacrifice fly and two-run single.

06-25:
Oak Griner 4, Wesley Chapel National 0
Spring Hill National 10, Bushnell 8
Wesley Chapel American vs. Hernando (Game postponed, light failure with score tied 7-7)

06-26:
Hernando 8, Wesley Chapel American 7

06-27:
Hernando 1, Oak Griner 0
HYL – Price Sartor hurls final two innings for the save.
Spring Hill National 9, Wesley Chapel American 6
SHN – Takes advantage of 11 Wesley Chapel walks including seven free passes in a 6-run first inning; Dominic Marrone went the first three innings for the mound win, Jeycris Delarosa went two innings before Luke Laferty earned the save pitching the final inning; Marrone paced the winners with a 2-for-3 effort and one run scored while Logan Ross went 2-for-4 with two singles and a run scored.
(Championship)
Hernando 10, Spring Hill National 0 (4 Innings)
HYL – Right-hander Price Sartor hurls his second complete game (four-inning) no-hitter permitting four walks while notching 11 strikeouts; Ryan Nigro went 2-for-3 while Clay Everett went 2-for-2 as Hernando finished 6-0 and advanced as District 6 champion to the July 11 State Championship Tournament in Paxton.

DIXIE YOUTH LEAGUE BASEBALL DISTRICT 6 JUNIOR BOYS (AGE 13) TOURNAMENT RESULTS
at Bushnell's Kenny Dixon Sports Complex (best-of-3)
06-26:
Spring Hill 17, Hernando 1 (6 Innings)
06-27:
Spring Hill defeats Hernando by forfeit. Spring Hill wins tournament 2-0.
NOTE: Spring Hill and Hernando advance to July 18 State Championship
Tournament to Marianna.

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

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