HCA Stumbles Out Of Gate

Maybe the trip across the state proved too draining. Maybe facing the seventh-ranked team was too overwhelming.

Either way, Hernando Christian Academy found itself down early and out of the Class 1A, Region II picture Friday night at Deltona-Trinity Christian.

The host Eagles scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and buried the Lions in five innings of their semifinal match-up, 10-0.

"We did not play well, not very sharp, very flat," second-year HCA Head Coach Scott Boer said. "I don't think the long bus ride helped. We were all pretty excited about winning (in the quarterfinals) against Lighthouse. I think emotionally, we were kind of drained."

HCA (16-10) starting pitcher David Rotteveel, who tossed a complete-game five-hitter against Lighthouse Christian in Tuesday's 9-1 quarterfinal victory, could not produce the same magic on short rest.

The right-hander walked and hit the first two Eagle (19-8) batters he faced before yielding a double and two singles that put the Lions in an early hole.

"It killed us falling behind like that," Boer said. "We batted first, went down 1-2-3. They came back, just like that we were down and heads were hanging. It was huge to get down so fast. That was very, very bad for us."

Trinity added a run in the second and broke the game open with four in the fourth. A hit batter, base hit and walk loaded the bases. A walk, error and passed ball all contributed to the rally.

In the fifth the Eagles invoked the mercy rule, loading the bases once more and scoring the tenth run on a hit-by-pitch.

For HCA, Ian Townsend registered three hits and Blake Hunter and Josh Romeo two apiece, with Hunter's double marking the team's only extra-base hit.

Despite the loss, this marked a bounce-back season for the Lions, who failed to reach regionals last year for the first time since they began play in the Florida High School Athletic Association in 2004.

HCA won the District 6 championship, the second district title in program history, and also advanced to the regional semifinals for the second time. The Lions have not advanced beyond this round.

"We had a great season," Boer said. "A lot of people wouldn't have thought we'd make it this far. We had an excellent season and I'm very proud of the boys.

"I'm disappointed we did not play very well tonight, but at the same time it's been a very successful season. The boys are happy with that."