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Highlands Today

Tigers Run Past Blue Streaks

Mark Pinson, Highlands Today

Sebring's Cody Higgins slides into third base as Palmetto's Grandon Goetzman waits for the throw in the first inning of Friday night's Class 4A-District 10 game at Firemen's Field.

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By MARK PINSON

Highlands Today

Published: March 22, 2009

SEBRING - Palmetto used its speed and timely hitting to beat Sebring by a score of 6-5 in high school baseball on Friday night at Firemen's Field.

Sebring, which had as many hits as Palmetto, ran itself out of a couple of possible rallies in the Class 4A-District 10 loss, which dropped the Blue Streaks to 5-2 in district play.

"We played with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and that's what we asked the kids to do," said veteran Sebring coach Hoppy Rewis. "We were a little too enthusiastic on the bases a few times, but we're getting better and that's what's important."

The close win improved the Tigers to 4-3 in district play.

"This is a good win for us," said Palmetto coach Joe Collis. "Sebring always has a good team and this is a very tough place to get a win.

"We've got a fairly young team with only four seniors, but we used our speed and this is a good confidence builder for us to get a district win on the road."

Palmetto jumped on top in the first inning when Tyler Redmond walked, stole one of six bases the Tigers swiped on the night, and scored on a two-out single to left field by Jacob Wilson.

Sebring answered in the bottom of the second inning when Gus Williams singled to center, stole second base and scored on a steal of third base when the catcher's throw sailed down the left-field line to knot the score at 1.

Palmetto scored in the top of the third inning on an RBI double by Wilson and a run-scoring double by Chris Diaz to put the Tigers up 3-1.

Palmetto tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth inning off of right-hander Dustin Lang to take a commanding 5-1 lead.

Sebring scored a single run in the bottom of the fourth and then rallied in the fifth.

Center fielder Evan Lewis led off with a double and Cody Higgins was hit by a pitch from Wilson.

Third baseman Cody Hoffner followed with a one-out double to left-center field to plate Lewis and Higgins.

A single by catcher Jesse Baker knocked out Wilson and Grandon Goetzman came on in relief for the Tigers.

Hoffner scored on a ground out by Williams to trim the Blue Streaks deficit to 6-5.

Higgins, who came on in relief of Lang, kept Sebring close by hurling three innings of no-hit ball with five strikeouts.

The Blue Streaks tried to mount a final rally, but the right-handed Goetzman retired the side in order in the final inning to seal the district win for Palmetto.

"Goetzman did a real fine job in relief," said Collis. "Jacob got a little tired, but we came in and slammed the door on a good Sebring team.

"We want to keep playing hard and get as high a seed as we can for the district tournament."

Sebring, which trails district leader Braden River by one game, is back on the diamond with a road game at district rival DeSoto on Tuesday and the Blue Streaks are at Sarasota Booker on Friday night.

"Our pitching was fine tonight, but we just couldn't get a hit when we needed it," said Rewis. "We had a hard time stopping Palmetto from running, but we're going to work on that.

"We've got a fairly young team, but the kids are playing hard and we want to keep working to get better."

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

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