Baseball, flag football teams seek success at district tournaments

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Baseball, flag football teams seek success at district tournaments

Sports

Saturday, 24 April 2010 00:00

By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer
On paper, next week’s district tournament draws look rocky for county baseball teams looking for a berth in the regional playoffs.
But that’s why, once the games begin, these tournaments are so interesting.
Osceola claimed this year’s Orange Belt Conference title despite a 15-7 loss to Harmony on Wednesday.
It was the Longhorns’ (15-9) third win in a row over OHS. They did most of the damage in a nine-run the first inning, powered by Tyler Lesch’s two-run homer, Cory Boza’s two-run double and Will Tilford’s two-run single. Tilford would later homer in the fourth inning and end the night 2-for-2 with two walks and three RBIs. Boza and Lesch also had three RBIs and Matt Storm scored three times.
“The kids are really swinging the bat well,” said HHS Coach Mike Fields. “With our pitching, we were hoping to win it in five innings because Osceola can swing it, too. They can come back on you. I’m glad they’re not in our district.”
Osceola’s Alexis Rivera led off the bottom of the first with a home run and the Kowboys made it 9-4 before Harmony scored four more in the second. Edwin Bonilla had three RBIs.
Osceola and Liberty tied at 4-1 in OBC play, but the Kowboys took the trophy based on two wins against the Chargers (13-8). Those teams go at it in the opening game of the 5A District 5 tournament at Liberty Monday at 7 p.m. The winner will face top-seeded Winter Haven Wednesday at 7 p.m.
Osceola (16-8) had some big wins to offset Wednesday’s loss, like a 6-5, 11-inning win over nationally-ranked Lake Wales, the No. 2 seed in 5A-5.
“It’s just a tough district,” OHS Coach Nick James said. “The top five seeds are winning teams. Three teams will go home who could be competitive in the regionals.”
St. Cloud is the highest seed of any county team. The Bulldogs (5-15) are No. 3 in the 4A District 6 event, hosted by Harmony. They will play Oak Ridge Monday at 4 p.m. The winner faces No. 2 Tavares Tuesday at 4 p.m.
Bulldogs Coach Jim Moran said he’s seen the team play like it could win the tournament at times this year.
“We’ve been up and down, normal for a mostly young team, but we’ve been lucky with our young pitchers,” he said. “That gives us a chance if we make it to Thursday.”
Harmony is the No. 4 seed and plays No. 5 Celebration Monday at 7 p.m. The winner draws top-seeded Eustis on Tuesday at 7 p.m. The championship is Thursday at 7 p.m.
One late-season loss moved Gateway from No. 1 to No. 4 seed in the wide-open 6A-6 tournament at Vero Beach. The Panthers open Monday at 6 p.m. against Treasure Coast. The winner facing top-seed Bayside, who the Panthers (13-11) split with this year, Tuesday at 4 p.m.
“Anything could happen, and I mean that,” GHS Coach Rob Hammond said. “We could win the tournament, or we could be done Monday.”
Harmony also hosts the District 8 flag football tournament. The host Longhorns , the No. 2 seed, will play No. 3 Osceola at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
That winner and that of the Dr. Phillips-Freedom game earlier in the day will play in Wednesday’s championship at 7 p.m.
Dr. Phillips is the favorite to win the title, while Harmony hopes to defend it. Only the district champion advances in the playoffs.