They Meet Again?

Last year's Dixie Belles (ages 13-15) All-Stars District 4 Tournament came down to two teams from Hernando County.

Spring Hill and Hernando faced three times, including twice on the final day when Spring Hill downed Hernando twice to claim the district championship.

Both head coaches have returned for their respective teams, Louie Caiazzo for Spring Hill and Cliff Manuel for Hernando.

The Hernando team features Jacyln Boever, Alicia Field, Holly Field, Ashley Frye, Kaitlyn Killingsworth, Kayla Knapp, Madison Manuel, Remington Manuel, Megan Platt, Koryn Rivers, Whitney Sims and Emily Walters.

Spring Hill has Gina Thompson, Linda Thompson, Brooke Sager, Alexis Adams, Shannon Cataldo, Megan Baker, Angie Gaffney, Danielle Caban, Brooke Young and Ashley Bettineschi.

Spring Hill plays tonight at 8:30 p.m. against West Pasco, while Hernando will wait until tomorrow at 11 a.m. against an undetermined opponent.

The five-team, double-elimination tournament will take place at Oakridge Park in New Port Richey, with the winner advancing to the State Tournament starting July 3 in Belleview.

Spring Hill: still some questions

At this point, Caiazzo is still attempting to get a handle on his team's capabilities.

"We're capable of being a good team but we're also capable of being a bad team," Caiazzo said. "It really depends on the day."

Still, the coach feels he has a talented group that works well together. He seems most focused on the offense based on the results of last year's trip to the State Tournament.

Spring Hill began that tournament with two wins before dropping the next two, when according to Caiazzo the club "hit some sort of drought" offensively.

Caiazzo also has concerns about the lack of information he has on the other teams in the tournament, including East Pasco, West Pasco and Wesley Chapel.

"I don't know anything about the other teams. Honestly that's a little nerve racking for me," Caiazzo said. "One game at a time. We'd like to go all the way but we've got to play one game at a time.

"We can't look past the first game. We've got to play smart ball. We can't make mistakes and it always comes down to pitching."

Waiting another day

Manuel has his own concerns about his team not having the opportunity to play tonight. Hernando drew a first-round bye.

"Honestly I'd like to start playing," Manuel said. "There's a benefit to getting the bye but I'd probably rather be playing. I know the girls are ready to play.

"Coming in late after everybody has started is not the best way to enter a tournament. But that's where we're at. We'll come in ready to play Saturday morning."

Manuel sees pitching as Hernando's greatest strength, giving his team the ability to maintain low-scoring games and allowing the offense to scratch out some runs.

Offensively, he feels that 70 percent of the line-up is ready to play, while the other 30 percent continues to improve.

"I think we have a very good defense and I think we go deep in pitching," Manuel said. "I think we can put a number of girls on the mound that can help us. I think we need to pick it up to go as far as we can in terms of batting."

Like his Spring Hill counterpart, Manuel has stressed not looking too far ahead.

"I ask my girls to take it one game at a time," Manuel said. "We'd like to work our way through the district and into the State Tournament.

"But the only way we can get there is one game at a time. I told them to focus on that game and use that as a building block to take us forward."

2008 Hernando Belles (ages 13-15) All-Stars
Name Position
Jacyln Boever 3B/P
Alicia Field P/1B
Holly Field LF
Ashley Frye P/RF
Kaitlyn Killingsworth 3B/CF
Kayla Knapp 1B
Madison Manuel 2B
Remington Manuel P/SS
Megan Platt C/3B
Koryn Rivers P/SS/OF
Whitney Sims CF
Emily Walters OF/2B/P
Head Coach: Cliff Manuel   
Assistant coaches: Kevin Knapp, Shane Rivers
 
2008 Spring Hill Belles (ages 13-15) All-Stars
Name Position
Gina Thompson 1B
Linda Thompson LF/SS/2B
Brooke Sager P/C/2B/3B
Alexis Adams P/C/1B
Shannon Cataldo 3B/SS
Megan Baker P/C/2B/3B
Angie Gaffney 3B/CF
Danielle Caban RF
Brooke Young 2B/LF
Ashley Bettineschi RF
Head Coach: Louie Caiazzo
Assistant coaches: Kim Foster, Ken Baker
 
COMING ATRACTIONS
WHO: Hernando, East Pasco, West Pasco, Spring Hill, Wesley Chapel.
WHAT: Dixie Belles (ages 13-15) All-Stars District 4 Tournament
WHEN: June 20-22
WHERE: Oakridge Park in New Port Richey
AT STAKE: District championship and spot in July 3 State Tournament at Belleview.
DIRECTIONS: Turn left on Trinity Boulevard off State Road 54. Turn right on Little Road, turn left on Mitchell Boulevard. Turn right on Seven Springs Boulevard. The park is located at 2141 Seven Springs Blvd.