'We Are The Champions!'

BROOKSVILLE - Going into the championship game of the Class 1A, District 6 baseball tournament held at Hernando Christian Academy Thursday afternoon, Lion Head Coach Scott Boer was hoping his starting pitcher David Rotteveel could come through with a good performance.

The junior side-armer came into the game suffering from a neck injury he sustained last week.

But the good news for the Lions is that Rotteveel came through the title game in fine shape.

The right-hander went five innings, giving up three runs on three hits to help HCA beat Ocala-Shores Christian in 5 1/2 innings and help propel the Lions into next week's regional playoffs, 13-3.

Besides the performance of Rotteveel, Blake Hunter and Derek Martin each went 3-for-4 at the plate as Hunter had four runs batted in while Martin drove in three.

The win puts HCA into next Tuesday's regional quarterfinal at home against the runner-up team from Class 1A, District 5 with the game starting at 4:30 p.m.

"It feels great to win this," said the second-year Coach Boer. "Last year, we made it to the semifinals, but lost 7-0. Our guys remember that and they even talked about it before the game today."

The injury to Rotteveel occurred last week and until Monday, Boer wasn't even sure his pitcher could go in the district final.

"He sprained his neck last week and went to the doctors and took a couple of days off," recalled Boer. "But he threw in the bullpen Monday and was fine today."

Hot start

The Lions, who improved to 15-9 this year, started off blazing in the first inning as they scored six times on just four hits.

OSC helped the Lions out a lot in the first inning as they had an error, three balks, a wild pitch and a passed ball.

Hunter singled in a run in the first, drove in two with a double in the third and added one more with a single in the fourth. Hunter added an RBI single in the third and a two-run single in the fourth.

In the process, HCA captured its third district title of the year -- the most in school history.

HCA 13, Ocala Shores Christian 3 (5 1/2 Innings)
OSC 111 00 -- 3 3 2
HCA 603 4X --13 9 1
OSC - Hadala, C. Grahling (3) and C. Grahling, Bernard (3).
HCA - Rotteveel and Keyes.
W - Rotteveel. L - Hadala.
2B - Hunter (HCA).
Records - Ocala-Shores Christian (13-6), Hernando Christian Academy (15-9).