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Highlands Today

Okeechobee Eliminates Sebring Again

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: July 27, 2007

GRAND RIDGE — As the driving wheels of the cars and vans head back to Highlands County, players and fans alike are pondering what happened on Wednesday night that propelled Okeechobee to Muscle Shoals, Ala., and sent Sebring home.

The undefeated Sebring All-Stars were in a prime position to vault themselves to a state title, but Okeechobee foiled those plans, winning 4-3 in the first game and 10-9 in the elimination match in the Dixie Junior Boys (age 13) state tournament at John Thomas Porter Park.

A controversial call left Sebring bewildered and washed in the notion that they came so close and let it slip away.

"We played four incredible games," Sebring statistician Bobbi Abeln said. "But we made more errors in the final two games than in the entire tournament."

Down by a run in the final inning, Sebring's Johnathan Knight doubled to left in an attempt to ignite a rally. Buddy Mays' sacrifice bunt moved Knight over to third, but Taylor Townsend's grounder was scooped up by Okeechobee, which alertly threw to home to gun down a streaking Knight, who was called out on a close play at the plate.

Sebring was never able to recover and watched as Okeechobee celebrated for the second time this season at their expense.

In the District 8 tournament, Sebring embarrassed Okeechobee in a 13-1 victory, but lost the final two games to hand the host team the district title.

Sebring was awarded the final state tournament spot because the District 2 team was not able to participate.

The boys in white had an early one-run lead before Okeechobee exploded for five runs in the second for an 8-3 lead. After each team scored a run in the third, Sebring got back on track, plating three runs in the fourth on a two-run single by Corbin Hoffner and an RBI double by Seth Abeln.

Sebring tied the game in the sixth on an RBI single by Alex Griffin that scored Abeln, but Okeechobee scored the go-ahead run in the final frame when Noah Wilcox scored on a single by Will Jackson.
Okeechobee will represent Florida in the upcoming Dixie Junior Boys World Series in Muscle Shoals, Ala., beginning August 4.

Facing elimination Wednesday, the Okeechobee All-Stars stayed alive by defeating district-rival Sebring 4-3 in the first game of the championship finale.

Sebring, which entered the game undefeated, could've won the state championship with a victory, but the win by Okeechobee forced an elimination game.

Okeechobee used an amazing sequence, starting with a triple play to end the bottom of the fourth inning, and ending with a four-run spurt in the top of the fifth inning to take a 4-2 advantage.

Sebring looked to be on the verge of breaking a scoreless tie wide open in the fourth inning, loading the bases with none out.

When Taylor Townsend drilled a two-run single to left field it appeared Sebring had all of the momentum.

However, Okeechobee pitcher Mark Weir forced Daniel Ware to get a ground ball to the third baseman, who tagged the bag and threw to first base for a second out.

When Sebring's pinch-runner made a play for third after the throw to first, he was gunned down for the third out of the inning.

An excited Okeechobee squad marched back to the dugout and carried its fervor with it back to the plate for the fifth inning.

A hit batsman and two singles loaded the bases with no outs and a passed ball allowed Jacob Akins to score the first Okeechobee run of the game.

An RBI single by Tyler Finney tied the game and Justin Morgan, after Sebring brought Seth Abeln on to pitch in relief, hit a single to center field to give Okeechobee the lead before Finney was thrown out at home on a strike from Sebring's Johnathan Knight.

Noah Wilcox's single through the middle of the infield provided Okeechobee with all the cushion it would need, bringing Morgan in to score for a 4-2 lead.

Weir returned to form in the fifth and sixth innings, retiring the side in order in the fifth while striking out two of three.

The Okeechobee right-hander started the sixth off with consecutive strikeouts and, after allowing a Knight single, forced a ground ball to end the inning.

Things wouldn't be so easy in the bottom of the seventh for Weir, though, as he walked two of the first three batters he faced.

After a Gunnar Westergom bunt, the Okeechobee catcher tried unsuccessfully to throw out the runner at third base, leaving the bases juiced with just one out.

Abeln's sacrifice fly to center field made it a one-run game and gave Alex Griffin a chance to win it with two on and two out. But Weir held on and struck out Griffin to end the game and give his team a chance at a state title.

Weir was the winning pitcher, while Ware took the loss for Sebring.

Jackson Floridian sports editor Dustin Kent contributed to this story.

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