Tohopekaliga heads to Celebration for District 10 volleyball championship
Luis Vargas collected three hits, drove in two runs and scored two others and three Osceola pitchers combined on a two-hitter as the Kowboys downed Celebration, 11-1, in a Class 7A, District 9 semifinal game on Tuesday night.
The win lifted top-seeded Osceola to 14-9 on the season and places them in Thursday night’s district title game against Harmony, who defeated Tohopekaliga, 9-1, in the evening’s other game. The Longhorns have defeated Osceola three times this season, including in the Orange Belt Conference championship game back on Mar. 31.
“We really got what we needed tonight,” Osceola coach Scott Birchler said. “The most important thing was not to look ahead and we were able to stay in the moment and take care of business. When we jumped out to the big lead, it allowed us to adjust how we used our pitchers. We should have everyone available on Thursday.”
Osceola started Carlos Negron and he pitched the first two innings, allowing just one walk. The Kowboys would use a two-run single from John Rodriguez and then take advantage of two Celebration errors to score three unearned runs and take a 5-0 lead after two innings.
The Kowboys would put the game away in the next inning. Vargas and Raul Ramirez opened the inning with back-to-back hits and John Rodriguez walked to load the bases. Storm pitcher Jesus Torres would strike out Yamil Santiago, but Nieves hit a towering ball to left field that was lost in the sun and it would fall for a bases-clearing triple. Jason Ramos then singled in Nieves as the Kowboys took a 9-0 lead into the fourth.
Samuel Rivas allowed just one walk in the next two innings and reliever Nathaniel Garda retired the Storm in order in the fifth as the Kowboys took a combined no hitter into the sixth. Leadoff hitter Alejandro Hernandez would push a single through the left side of the infield and would eventually score on Sebastian Rivera’s ground out. But the rally was short-lived and the Kowboys loaded the bases with no out in the bottom of the sixth before Vargas’ two-run single ended the game on the 10-run mercy rule.
As top seed and district host, Osceola’s win puts them at home Thursday night against the Longhorns (14-11). In the Harmony’s win over Tohopekaliga, Evan Christ pitched four and one-third innings of one hit ball, striking out five. Sophomore Samuel Matos and junior Iziah Santiago had two RBI each for the Longhorns.
“It should be another great game against two pretty evenly-matched teams,” Birchler –who will be going for his eighth district title with Osceola -- said. “Whoever can get the big hits and make the fewest mistakes will probably win.”
Currently Osceola is ranked fifth in Region 3, and Harmony is seventh. Barring any upsets, the loser of Thursday’s game could still advance to regionals as an at-large selection.
Celebration reached the semifinals with a 9-3 win over Poinciana and finished its season with a 14-7-1 record.
In Class 6A, District 8, St. Cloud’s season came to an end Tuesday night with a 14-0 loss to top-seeded Viera in the semifinals. The Bulldogs, 8-12, advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4 win over Heritage on Monday night. Roman Lopez knocked in three runs for the Bulldogs in that game.
In Class 5A, District 7 play, Liberty (11-11) lost a 6-0 decision to Lake Wales (20-6) in the semifinals. The Chargers reached that point on Monday with an 11-0 win over Gateway. David Jimenez and Alexander Gonzalez combined on a five-hitter and Kenai Crespo drove in two runs for the Chargers.
Softball -- Bulldogs also playing for a title
In 7A, District 10 softball action, top-seeded Osceola (12-9) will host Harmony (9-7) on Thursday for the district championship and the automatic bid to regional play. The Lady Kowboys punched their way to the finals with an 11-1 win over Tohopekaliga. Senior Kaylee Jones scored four runs and drove in two more to back the complete game pitching performance of Alexis Miranda, who allowed just one hit and struck out nine in the game that was shortened to six innings by the 10-run rule.
In Harmony’s 9-6 win over Poinciana, freshman Emerson Asian scored four runs and drove in two others. Dominica Kohout had two RBI as the Lady Kowboys won for the fifth time in their last six games. Poinciana, who got a home run from Aidalee Vargas, finishes its season at 14-9 – the first winning season in school history.
The District title game will be a rematch of the Orange Belt Conference Tournament semifinal game, won by Osceola, 11-4.
In 7A, District 9 action, second-seeded St. Cloud edged third-seeded Lake Nona, 4-3, to earn a spot in Thursday’s title game against top-seeded Boone, a 14-1 winner over Boone.
In 5A, District 6 games, both Liberty and Gateway saw their seasons come to an end in the semifinals. Gateway dropped a 15-0 decision to top-seeded Auburndale; Liberty dropped a 12-1 decision to Horizon.
Boys’ Volleyball
The Celebration Storm (17-9) will host Tohopekaliga (17-8) on Thursday night at 6 p.m. for the Class 1A, District 10 championship. The Storm, winners of four straight and nine of their last 10 matches, swept past Poinciana in the semifinals (25-15, 25-12, 25-19) as Darion Graham had a team-high 10 kills.
The Tigers reached the finals with a straight-set, 25-22, 25-23, 25-19 win over St. Cloud. It was the Tigers’ fourth win of the season over the Bulldogs. Tohopekaliga and Celebration have met one time this season with the Storm taking a straight-set win in the Orange Belt Conference finals.
DISTRICT CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
Baseball 7A, District 9 Harmony at Osceola, 6 p.m., Thursday
Softball 7A, District 10 Harmony at Osceola, 6 p.m., Thursday
Softball 7A, District 9 St. Cloud at Boone, 6 p.m., Thursday
Boys Volleyball 1A, District 10 Tohopekaliga at Celebration, 6 p.m.,Thursday
