All Tied Up!

WESLEY CHAPEL - On a wild day of baseball at Wesley Chapel District Park, it was fitting that it ended on a wild throw.

Two Senior Boys (age 14) All-Stars District 6 Tournament contests took place Saturday, two roller coaster rides that only muddled the championship picture.

First Hernando recovered from blowing a seven-run lead with a seventh-inning rally to eliminate Oak Griner, 13-11.

Then Sumter survived coughing up a four-run advantage in the top of the seventh to tag Spring Hill for its first loss, 13-12.

"We're young," Sumter Head Coach Brian Simmons said. "We're going to compete, we're going to stay in the ballgame, we're going to give everything we've got. We've just got to play hard.

"They believe in themselves. The more games we play, the better we're going to get. We've got to play to win. We've fought this far. We've got to keep fighting."

As a result, the three teams are each tied with one loss apiece, necessitating a doubleheader on Sunday to decide who took home the title and a berth in the State Tournament.

Spring Hill (3-1) won a draw for a bye into the second game, pitting Sumter (3-1) against Hernando (2-1), who had already received a bye earlier in the tournament.

Back and forth

Spring Hill and Sumter had already met once in the first round, with Spring Hill winning, 8-6. In this one, neither team could hang onto momentum in spite of building reasonable leads.

Spring Hill's one-run edge on J.T. Simpson's first-inning groundout vanished in the bottom half of that inning, when Sumter put four runs on the board including Cody Watson's two-run single.

When Dillon Hagins drew a bases-loaded walk in the second, Sumter found itself up 5-1. Simpson came on in relief with the bases loaded and one out, recording a strikeout and groundout to avoid further damage.

That proved key as Spring Hill knotted it up in the third. Julian Perez punched a single between first and second base to plate two, and lefty Ian Townsend followed by pulling a two-run home run to right field.

In the fourth, Simpson's hustle double drove in Thomas Tambasco, followed by Louis Colaiacomo's ground-rule double to center. Perez singled up the middle to score Colaiacomo and make it 8-5.

After Simpson retired Sumter in the fourth, Head Coach Mike Sollazzo opted to preserve his ace and ended his day on the mound.

"Obviously I was looking ahead, saving him for tomorrow," Sollazzo said. "And I guess it bit me in the butt."

Sumter scored seven unanswered runs over the next two innings, taking advantage of four Spring Hill errors to head into the final frame up 12-8.

Yet Spring Hill mounted a rally as Perez and Townsend each drew walks, while David Woop and Dante Sollazzo both reached via hit-by-pitch, bringing in a run without a hit.

Following a pop-up to the catcher, Joey Asquith pulled Spring Hill within a run ripping a two-run double down the third-base line. Pinch runner Mike Kodetksy scored the tying run on a wild pitch.

However, Sumter reliever Clay Simmons retired the next two hitters to preserve the tie, then led off the bottom of the inning with a bloop single to right.

He went to second on a two-out grounder and stole third, drawing a low throw that bounced on into left field. Simmons easily raced home, winning the game on Spring Hill's sixth error of the day.

"I still don't know what I'm going through right now. All I can say is 'wow'," Coach Sollazzo said. "We had some errors tonight. The mentality wasn't there; mentally ready to play. I think they realize it. Now we've got to do it the hard way."

Hernando survives

Against Oak Griner, Hernando used a seven-run second inning to go ahead 7-0, only to watch Oak Griner score four in the fourth and five in the sixth to jump in front 10-8.

Three outs away from elimination, Hernando came back in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Cody Singer pulled a 3-2 pitch to the right side and through for a go-ahead two-run single.

Singer also notched the win in relief, and sealed the victory in the bottom of the inning despite permitting a run.

"We hit a little lull in the middle of the game, they took the lead," Hernando Head Coach Bubba Patterson said. "But our boys showed a little moxie and got some runs.

"...They are a team. Teamwork is the key. It's the don't give up attitude that I like about these boys."