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Blue Streaks Slam 'Cats In District Debut

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Highlands Today Staff Report

Published: February 12, 2009

WAUCHULA - Sammie Lower was 2-for-3 with a bases-clearing double and Danielle Lower had two extra-base hits on Tuesday as the Sebring softball team opened district play with a 10-3 victory over Hardee.

Niki Helms struck out 11 and gave up two earned runs in the complete-game victory, and first-year SHS coach Joe Sinness picked up the first of what he hopes are many district wins to come with a talented team.

"Everyone hit the ball tonight," said Sinness, whose Streaks pounded out 12 hits and saw each starter reach base. "We came out the first three innings and we jumped on them and got up 7-1, but then we lost some intensity and had some mental lapses.

"We were rolling and we thought they were going to just roll over."

The Streaks are back in action at 7:30 p.m. today at LaBelle and make their home debut at 7 p.m. on Friday against Moore Haven.

BASEBALL: Lemon Bay 5, Lake Placid 3

ARCADIA - Kyle Barber and David Hodge each had two hits, but the Lake Placid baseball team missed out on golden offensive opportunities en route to a 5-3 loss to Lemon Bay in the Green Dragons' preseason opener at the DeSoto Classic.

LP, which jumped out an early 2-1 lead, had the bases loaded in the seventh but couldn't come up with a key hit.

"We're probably five or six runs better than that, but we weren't disciplined," said LP coach Dan Coomes, who said his team swung at too many bad pitches at the plate.

"With this group, I'm a little surprised. We're better than that."
Perry Mason looked solid in his first three innings, allowing three walks and three hits, but Coomes said Mason kept himself out of trouble.

"Mason knows he's capable of throwing a lot better," Coomes said. "But at the same time, he didn't get hurt."

The Dragons finishes up in Arcadia at 4:30 p.m. today, when they take on Fort Myers Evangelical Christian.

SOFTBALL: DeSoto 8, Avon Park 1

ARCADIA - The Avon Park softball team played well in its first four innings of the regular season, but key errors late cost them an 8-1 district loss to DeSoto on Tuesday.

Sarah Hunnicutt knocked two base-hits and Ashley Carr struck out three and walked seven over six innings, but a pair of two-out errors allowed the Bulldogs too many second chances.

"It was one of those things where we didn't make plays and it got out of hand," said first-year AP coach Wade Jackson. "We did some good things and made some good plays, but we dropped two easy pop-ups, which we can't do.

"I see improvement every time we're out on the field, we just have to be more consistent and that comes with experience and more time on the field."

The Devils are back in action on Friday, when they host Booker.

The Highlands Today sports department can be reached at 863-386-5841 or sports@highlandstoday.com.

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