Bradenton Braden River brings 26-3 record to semifinal game

By Rick Pedone
Sports Editor

How appropriate is it that Team Adversity, also known as the Harmony High softball team, will play Monday at 2 p.m. at the Class 4A state tournament against Bradenton Braden River without Coach Ralph King?

King was notified by the Florida High School Athletic Association Wednesday that he is suspended from all coaching duties through May 17 after being ejected by umpire Tony Singer from the regional final at Dade City Pasco High Tuesday, a 4-3 Harmony win in nine innings. That means he will miss the state tournament at the National Training Center in Clermont, unless an appeal filed by Harmony High Thursday is approved.

King was ejected in the fifth inning after the Lady Longhorns, then down 3-1, turned a triple play that changed the momentum of the game.

Both the players and the umpires seemed confused during the play, and the officials had to huddle before determining that Harmony forced out all three Pirates base runners. Singer ejected King after the play for what Singer described in his report to the FHSAA to be “continued chirping” from King after Singer told King to “stop.”

King said Tuesday that he told the umpire that, “It’s about time we got control of the game,” before he was tossed.

Harmony was fined $100 by the FHSAA and King must complete a six-hour sportsmanship class before being permitted to coach again.

“My problem with the (FHSAA) report is that it is classified as a Level 2 infraction, which usually means that there was a lot of profanity and abuse involved, and from what I’ve heard, that doesn’t describe the situation,” Harmony Athletic Director Chuck Hitt said.

King said that the team will be in good hands under assistant coach Deanna Sphaler.

“We have a lot of good coaches here that will make sure that things run smoothly,” he said. “We’ll be fine.

King’s suspension is just the latest obstacle for the Lady Longhorns to overcome. They already have seen pitcher Breann Vanderzyl lost for the season because of an auto accident 10 days ago; outfielder Brittany Bruns playing on a leg and a half due to a pulled hamstring, and pitcher Lauren Harris deliver a sparkling six-inning relief stint at Pasco High after she was at the doctor’s office early Tuesday with abdominal discomfort.

On the plus side, Harmony has gotten big plays from shortstop Aleshia Ocasio, who leads the team with a .429 batting average. She keyed the Longhorns’ two-run rally in the sixth inning at Pasco High with a leadoff double. Noticing that nobody was covering second base on a slow roller up the middle, she hustled to second to charge up the Harmony dugout.

Bruns, signed to Chipola State College, provided senior leadership Tuesday by drilling a solo home run in the second inning, then driving in Bri Kimura with the tying run in the sixth inning with a sacrifice fly. She scored the winning run in the ninth after leading off with a single.

“We knew it was going to be a close game, but we were confident. We knew that we all were going to have to bring our A-game to win,” Bruns said.

Bruns is one of only three senior starters along with catcher Payton Dering and second baseman Beth Newcott.

The underclassmen have been outstanding: Harris, Bri Kimura, Ocasio, third baseman Jodi Nestle and outfielder Maddie Nichols all have delivered key hits or made big defensive plays in the playoffs.

Kaitlyn Burroughs, Courtney King and Taylor Kuwik, the only other senior on the roster, come off the bench and contribute.

Due to Vanderzyl’s injury, King started three freshmen at Pasco High: Ocasio, outfielder Savannah Austin and starting pitcher Molly Baker, who pitched three shutout innings.

“This team is remarkable. They won’t let anything stop them,” King said. “We have a lot of depth now, a great mix of talent, and we’ve got more on the way.”

Kimura, a sophomore, said the team believes in itself.

“We’ve bonded. We work as a team and there is so much trust that we have for each other. We know that we will be successful because we work as a team and not as individuals,” she said.

She said the team will miss having King in the dugout.

“Coach has been there for us always. We’d love to have him there,” she said.

Braden River, 26-3, like Harmony, is making its first trip to the state tournament.

Ironically, the team’s nickname is the Pirates, like Pasco High on Tuesday.

Braden River has one of the state’s top underclassmen in sophomore pitcher Courtney Mirabella, who is 21-3.

Mirabella had 21 strikeouts during the 1-0, 11-inning victory over Naples Barron Collier in the regional semifinal. The Pirates were the district runner-up to Lakewood Ranch and have won three straight road playoff games.

Harmony will be among an elite field at the Class 4A state tournament, where Jacksonville Bartram Trail (29-2) is making its fourth consecutive state finals appearance after winning back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2008-09.

The Bears were eliminated in the Class 4A semifinals last year by Naples.

The Bears, ranked No. 1 in the Miracle Sports Class 4A state poll, will play No. 3-ranked Eau Gallie (25-5), a Class 6A state tournament qualifier in 2009, in Monday’s noon semifinal game.

Braden River is ranked No. 4 by Miracle Sports and Harmony is No. 5.