By Ken Jackson
Sports Writer

Harmony and Gateway both took eight-game winning streaks into Tuesday’s Orange Belt Conference clash at Longhorn Field, so something had to give.

It was the Panthers who turned a great eight into a divine nine with a 5-3 comeback victory.

Gateway trailed early but got a win that wasn’t the easiest on its players or Coach Rob Hammond, as his team had baserunners in only two innings.

“Normally if we don’t play well we’ve gotten handled this year,” Hammond said. “It’s good to see we can win ugly.”

The Panthers (14-7) moved to 5-0 in the OBC and have claimed no worse than a tie for their first conference title since 2004, when they also won their last district title. Gateway can wrap up a perfect OBC season with a win Monday at St. Cloud at 7 p.m.

Harmony (13-6) can tie Osceola for second when those two meet Monday at Harmony at 6 p.m.

The Longhorns took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first Tuesday playing their brand of ball. Omar Villamon and Tommy Lopez reached with an infield single and an error to lead off, and came home on Tyler Whitney’s RBI single and A.J. Stevens’ sacrifice fly. Hammond had seen it before.

“That’s what they do to you, that’s how they beat us for the district title my last year at St. Cloud (2008),” he said. “They get a guy on first, bunt him over then get a shot through the infield to score him. It’s fundamental.”

The Longhorns made it 3-0 in the second on Trent Hinton’s home run, but Gateway answered quickly in the third on four hits. E.J. Devarie’s sacrifice fly brought in Randall Toribio, who singled to lead off, then Juan Rivera delivered a two-out, two-run single to tie the score.

Baserunners were at a premium until the seventh inning, when the Panthers loaded the bases and got the game-winning hit from Byran Ojeda, who scored Julio Abreu on a single. Toribio later scored when Devarie’s two-out fly ball was dropped.

Harmony put the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh, but Gateway pitcher Manny Rivera ended the threat to get the win.

On the mound, Stevens kept Harmony in the game into the seventh. The junior only struck out four, but threw 22 of 29 first-pitch strikes.

“He gave us a shot to win,” HHS Coach Mike Fields said. “He’s improved so much since the fall, and first-pitch strikes are the thing we told him would be the key to it.

“We’re so young right now, it’s tough when we get into a seventh inning like that. But, the kids kept at it.”

It was Rivera, who struck out seven and scattered seven hits, who got the win.

The Panthers have now won 12 of their last 14 after shaking off a five-game losing streak in February. After Monday’s game at St. Cloud, Gateway will host the Bulldogs April 21 and then Poinciana April 22.

Hammond said it’s important that his team go into the 6A District 6 tournament in Vero Beach the following week with momentum.

“We talked more about starting a four-game winning streak (Tuesday) than we did the OBC, or the district,” he said.

“We’re the fourth seed (out of five teams), but there isn’t one team we want to avoid or anything. We could win it or we could be out the first day, like last year, and we were out the first day.”

On Friday, Harmony clinched the second seed in the 4A-6 tournament that begins April 25 with a dramatic 3-2 win over St. Cloud. Stevens went 2-for-3.

The second hit was a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth.

“Both teams played very well. It was a great high school game,” Fields said.

“Everyone got their money’s worth.”