Elks Rally Late, Tag Firemen

SEBRING - Tyler Bertoniere was money from both sides of the ball on Tuesday, as he scored three runs and struck out four in the final two innings to seal the deal during the Elks 12-7 win over the Firemen in Dixie Youth Majors (ages 11-12) "O" Zone action at Max Long Recreational Complex on Tuesday.

Bertoniere went 3 for 3 at the plate, while teammate Hector LeBron had only one hit, but drove in four runs to lift the Elks to a 6-2 record on the season.

Elks head coach Bill Westergom is impressed with his squad's performance of late after struggling at the plate in previous games.

"We started our the season pretty strong, but our hitting hasn't been up to par lately," Westergom said. "I'm glad to see our boys start hitting the ball again."

The switch to "O" Zone - which allows for open bases, baserunning leads and stolen bases - two seasons ago has brought plenty of changes on the field for the kids, but Westergom is seeing the players enjoying the game much more.

"When we made the switch to 'O' Zone as a league, we had to really teach the fundamentals to the kids," Westergom said. "We had to teach them the role of the catcher and the fundamentals of base running. That's something that we didn't have to worry about before because of the closed bases."

The new rules this season have put a cap on a pitcher's innings down to two per game and a maximum of six innings per week.

"The rule changes have really put an emphasis on pitching," Westergom said. "You now have to draft and develop more pitchers than you did before. A team has to go four deep in their bullpen. We felt as a league that this would protect the player's arms instead of going out and pitching three-plus innings.

"We're really making the game fun for the kids but we're also grooming these kids for high school baseball."

The Firemen (2-6) were led by Chris Hensley, who went 3 for 4 at the plate with four RBI, including a two-run homer that tied the game at seven in the top of the fifth.

With the score tied, the Elks erupted for six hits and plated five runs to take the lead for good.

With two runners on base, Bertoniere blasted an RBI double to score Jordan Austin from third and Ryan Davidson followed suit with a two-run single into center field. After an RBI ground out by Andrew Dean, Cameron Cobb scored Jacob Cram to put the Elks up 12-7.

Bertoniere came on in relief to mow down the Firemen in top of the fifth with three straight strike-outs and had little trouble in the sixth for the win.

"Tyler's a lefty with a lot of velocity and a nasty curve ball," Westergom said. "We didn't let him throw his curve too much tonight. It has a tendency to hang and it can get him into trouble sometimes. But he did his job tonight."

Cobb had one hit and two RBI for the Elks, while Ely White scored two runs and Alex Garcia had two RBI for the Firemen.

Dixie Boys (13-14): Publix 13, Goin' Postal 3
SEBRING - Seth Abeln went 3 for 3 and scored three runs and Justin Acevedo went 3 for 3 to help Publix stay undefeated with a 10-run mercy-rule victory over Goin' Postal on Tuesday.

Publix built and 11-2 lead after two innings and coasted to an 8-0 record, while Goin' Postal dropped to 4-4 on the season.

The Publix game against West Coast, which was scheduled for Friday evening, has been changed to 9 a.m. Saturday morning.