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State Title Slips Away From Sebring

W. SEMINOLE COMES UP BIG WHEN THEY NEED TO

Chris Hoffman/Highlands Today

Mixed emotions cascade over the Sebring All-Stars after coming up short in their bid for a state tournament title against West Seminole in the Dixie AAA (ages 9-10) state tournament final on Thursday.

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By Christopher  Hoffman | Highlands Today

Published: July 11, 2008

EAST LAKELAND - Bases loaded, no outs and your best hitters are coming up to bat.
That's just the sort of scenario baseball coaches dream about in a close championship game.

"As a coach, you can't ask for anything better than bases loaded and no outs," said Sebring coach Bobby Cannon. "That was the turning point in the game. That was our season in a nutshell."

The West Seminole Nationals were the ones who came up big when they needed to: They allowed just one run, struck out the final two batters of the inning and held off a late rally en route to a 6-5 victory over Sebring in the Dixie AAA (ages 9-10) state championship final on Thursday.

"This was a tough way to go," Cannon said. "We didn't get the hits when we needed them. I can't take anything away from [West Seminole] because they played two great games against us.

"They're a good hitting team, and to hold them to six runs was a victory of sorts on our part — we just couldn't get the job done."

As many of the Sebring kids showed their emotions after the game, Cannon gave them an order before going out for the post-game congratulations.

"Heads up, and let's show them we've got the best sportsmanship in this tournament," Cannon said. "Keep those heads up."

The order was followed, but many of the kids were still in shock over their season being over.
"We were so close," said Sebring catcher Jimmy Peck. "We had our chances to win, and we let it slip through our fingers."

Peck came up huge for Sebring in the tournament by hitting three home runs and going 1 for 2 with a double and RBI in the championship final.

The turning point came in that pivotal fourth inning.
Sebring's Gerig Blackman led off with a walk while bad fielding by West Seminole allowed Jason Cannon and Jordan Austin to reach base with no outs. Connor Cook hit into a fielder's choice at third, but it allowed Blackman to score and a passed ball put runners on second and third.

But West Seminole's Vincenzo Catanza used every pitch and every part of the plate to ring up a pair of strikeouts to deflate Sebring and send them back to the dugout still down by a run.

Connor Kouwenhaven got that run back for West Seminole on a solo home run into left-center field to not only push their lead back up to two, but whittle down Sebring's confidence.

"That home run was a tough one to give up," Cannon said. "The pitch was great. He just got a hold of it, and I think that took the wind out of our sails a little bit."

Sebring would score a run in the sixth, but West Seminole had enough in the tank for one more strikeout to ignite the celebration in their dugout and end Sebring's season early once more.

"We've been knocking on the door for two years now," Cannon said. "I'm proud of these kids. They've been state runner-ups the past two years, and in a couple of years, we'll be knocking on the door again."

Sebring started the game behind the eight ball after giving up back-to-back singles in almost the exact same spot in right field that set the stage for Austin Makarewiez and his monster shot into deep center field — a three run homer — to give West Seminole an early 3-0 lead.

Makareweiz tied with Peck with three home runs in the AAA tournament, including two against Sebring.
The boys in blue finally got their offense going in the third.

A walk to Rowdy Sebring, who stole second on a passed ball, and a single by Jordan Acevedo put runners at first and third. A shot down the left-field line by Cook scored Sebring and a single by Alex Gomez loaded the bases with two outs.

A walk to Peck drove in Acevedo and a single into right by Seth Cannady plated Gomez to tie the game at three, but West Seminole responded with a two-run homer by Payton Rigby to regain the lead.

Chris Hoffman can be reached at 863-386-5827 or choffman@highlandstoday.com.

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