Dragons Step Past Devils

Logan Smith is looking forward to his next trip to the mall.

"It's always nice to beat someone from the county," said Smith after he went 2-for-2 with a double, sacrifice fly and two RBI to lead the LP baseball team to a 6-3 victory over Avon Park on the second day of the Bill Jarrett Spring Break Tournament at Scarborough Field. "It gives us more confidence going into districts, and when we go to the mall and you see someone from Avon Park you can hold your head up."

After dropping their opening game 8-7 to First Academy of Orlando with the potential tying run on third base, the Green Dragons rebounded for a victory over their cross-county rivals behind Smith's steady bat and Kyle Barber's fifth-inning home run.

In fact, the fifth proved to be a turning point for the Class 3A Dragons, who lacked focus in the dugout before bearing down to grab the win from their 4A foes from up north.

"I thought we were a little goofy," said LP coach Dan Coomes. "We didn't have the same intensity during most of the second game as we did in the first.

"But I'm glad we persevered and got the job done."

Avon Park coach Mort Jackson was frustrated with his team's inability to put all three facets of the game together, a trend that has haunted them for much of the season. He said other than a solid outing by Emmanuel Vasquez in his first career pitching appearance, there were few bright spots on the Red Devils' side.

"I feel like we're a better hitting team, because that's one thing we thought we'd be able to do," Jackson said. "We still played good defense, but when you don't hit or pitch well, you lose.

"They out-hit us, out-pitched us and out-played us, basically - when you can't hit better than we did and when you don't take advantage of opportunities, you lose."

The Devils got on the board in the third when Ty Jackson scored on a passed ball after walking and reaching third on a Dylan Heiring single. The lead was short lived, however, as the Dragons tied the game at one when Perry Mason scored on a bases-loaded passed ball. On the next pitch, Smith knocked a sacrifice fly to score Brad Stayton and give LP a 2-1 lead.

Avon Park would tie the game in the fifth when Densby Jackson scampered home a wild pitch, and the Devils seemed primed to break the team open with the bases loaded and one out. But Lake Placid's Dylan Callahan, who replaced starter Colby Delaney with second and third and one out in the fifth, held off the AP rally and kept the game tied at two.

"I really felt like our pitchers weren't as sharp as they have been all year," Coomes said. "We were behind in the count a lot, and that makes us less effective."

After a firm talking-to midway through the fifth, the Dragons responded, scoring first when Smith knocked a double off the left-center field fence to score David Samperi and Barber followed two pitches later with a two-run home run over nearly the same spot.

"I saw the left fielder playing in, and I wanted to burn him and hit one deep," Barber said, noting he was sitting on a fastball. "I just wanted to hit one deep and score a run, and I guess I accidentally hit one out."

Avon Park got one back in the top of the sixth when Ty Jackson hit a towering sacrifice fly to score pinch-runner Drew Reeves from third, but Lake Placid would add an insurance run in the bottom of the frame when Perry Mason singled off his fists to right field to score pinch-runner Mario Gonzales.

"We all helped each other tonight and lifted each other up," Mason said. "After we lost the first one, we cleared our minds and concentrated on the next game, because we knew there was nothing we could do about the last one.

"We're hitting the ball well, we just need to work on our defense."

The win sent the Dragons into a meeting with Clewiston on Wednesday. See Friday's Highlands Today for complete coverage.

EARLY GAME: Sebring 11, Frostproof 1 (6 innings)

Evan Lewis had two hits and three RBI, Gus Williams had a pair of hits and Kevin Welborn pitched six solid innings to lead the Sebring baseball team to an 11-1 victory over Frostproof at Scarborough Field.

The win sent the Streaks into the Spring Break tourney's championship game against First Academy, which was held on Wednesday night.

See Friday's Highlands Today for complete coverage, including photos and reaction.

SPRING BREAK TOURNEY

See FRIDAY'S paper for results from all three games on Wednesday: Avon Park vs. Frostproof, Lake Placid vs. Clewiston, and the tourney final, Sebring vs. First Academy.