State Champion Hernando Heads to Cajun Country

BELLEVIEW - There is a difference between the Hernando Debs team of a year ago and this season's squad.
Last season, Hernando had to navigate its way through the loser's bracket at the state tournament and then beat East Pasco twice to qualify for the Dixie League World Series.
This season's team was not nearly as dramatic. In fact, when it was realized Hernando had nine of last year's 12 players returning, nine players who made it to the final game of that Dixie World Series, it was almost a foregone conclusion that a return trip was certain.
That was Head Coach Paul Sinwelski's greatest fear, of course -- overconfidence, that one unpredictable emotion that preys upon athletes who stray too far from the present task and start looking down the road at what might be theirs, then start performing like it is.
As it turned out, there was no need to be concerned.
Hernando handled the Dixie League All-Stars Softball State Tournament with a combination of focus and aplomb, not worried too much about anything. Why would these stars have to be? In three tournament games, Hernando outscored its opponents 54-0, no game going longer than five innings -- including Sunday afternoon's 12-0 clinching rout of West Pasco in the championship final.
Asked if he had started making plans for his team's trip to Louisiana for the World Series (which begins Aug. 1), Sinwelski was adamant. "Absolutely not," he said. "And I told the girls last night not to even thing about it."
They can start to now. This tournament was about as lopsided as it gets, with Hernando playing near-perfect defense in support of similar pitching -- in its two games against runner-up West Pasco, Hernando gave up one hit in each -- while scoring run after run offensively.
"We have tremendous batting," Sinwelski said. "They're calm, they're confident -- I didn't even have to over coach them.
"We went into last year's tournament as the underdog. Judging by what I've seen here, this is a much stronger team than last year."

Over early

Hernando wasted few chances against West Pasco, scoring three runs in the first, sparked by Ch'antia Sanders' two-run single, and five in the second, with Alex Hayden slugging a three-run double.
Hernando closed it out behind a four-run sixth, with Destinee Mormando knocking in two with a triple and Meredith Hanshaw and Sanders each contributing run-scoring singles.
It was a dominating performance, to be sure. No, it won't be like this at the World Series, but the experience of having been there will help.
"We showed them last year we could play with the best," Sinwelski said. "These girls are hungry."
Now the plan is to show the rest of the country's Dixie League stars that Hernando is the best.

Hernando 12, West Pasco 0 (5 Innings)
123 45 R H E
HER 350 04 -- 12 11 0
WP 000 00 -- 0 1 7
WP - C. Williams, Horn (3) and Brock.
HER - Hanshaw, Sinwelski (4), Langley (5) and Rudy.
W - Hanshaw. L - C. Williams.
2B - Hayden (HER).
3B - Mormando (HER).
Records - Hernando (3-0), West Pasco (2-2).

Dixie Youth League
Debs (ages 16-18) Softball
State Tournament Recap
at Belleview

07-04:
Hernando 32, Mulberry 0 (4 1/2 Inns.)

07-05:
Hernando 10, West Pasco (5 Inns.)

07-06: (Championship)
Hernando 12, West Pasco 0 (5 Inns.)