HYL Whacks West Pasco

BELLEVIEW - It all looked so - familiar.

The Hernando Debs (ages 16-18) All-Stars played their second game in their four-team bracket at the Dixie League State Softball Tournament against West Pasco, and the result was what one might expect when an opponent tangles with a team that reached the Dixie League World Series final a year ago before losing.

A seven-run second got things rolling for Hernando, which used a two-run fifth to end the game prematurely, 10-0 at the Belleview Sports Complex.

Next up was West Pasco, once again, in what ended up being the state championship game at 2 p.m. Sunday at Belleview.

If nothing else, Hernando was methodical in its dismantling of West Pasco, using six hits - including a two-run home run by Jessica Kreider, an RBI double by Brittany Parker and a two-run single by Alex Hayden - to produce its seven-run second.

But it didn't end with the offense. Hernando played error-free in the field and surrendered one hit in the game.

"It was absolutely what I wanted to see," said Hernando Head Coach Paul Sinwelski. "They just kept at it. They hit the ball - we have some fantastic hitters - they played perfect defense, we got great pitching and they showed a lot of focus."

The one-hit pitching performance turned in by Mary Ellen Langley and Stephanie Sinwelski included 10 strikeouts, also an impressive number.

Hernando used a run-scoring single by Brittany Rudy in the third to make it 8-0, then got the game-ending two runs in the fifth on an RBI hit by Meredith Hanshaw and an error on Ch'antia Sanders' run-producing grounder.

Heather Roush, Hayden, Elizabeth Letts, Destinee Mormando and Rudy each had two hits in the game for Hernando, which looked well on its way to making that return trip to the Dixie League World Series.