Wildcats down Dragons

Lake Placid coach Dan Coomes knew the repercussions. Start six first-time players and issues will arise.

Fielding blunders. Wild pitches. Power deficiencies.

They were all on display in Tuesday night's Class 3A-District 9 loss to McKeel Academy.

McKeel Academy scored nine runs in the sixth, blowing open a close game and sending Lake Placid to a 14-3 loss at Roger Scarborough Memorial Field.

"I've been in this game a long time," Coomes said, "and I still don't have an answer for what's going on out there."

McKeel Academy scored 12 unanswered runs after Lake Placid plated two runs in the first inning. In the decisive sixth, the Green Dragons (4-4) used three pitchers to record three outs, all while allowing nine runs on just five hits.

"We're just battling ourselves, because we either throw strikes and don't play good defense, or vice versa," Coomes said.

They didn't do either in the sixth, when Coomes removed Lake Placid left-hander David Samperi after he allowed a run-scoring hit to Drew Carlton.

Down 4-2, and with a significant district game looming Friday against Avon Park, Coomes called upon freshman Heath Harris, who pitched for the JV team a few days ago.

"We're not going to use all our pitches in a situation that got blown open," Coomes said. "We're not very deep and we've got to do what we've got to do."

The move backfired.

Harris allowed a two-run triple to Jordan Rivera. He plated another run after a wild pitch. He served up a solo home run to Ryan Coward. Before long, it was 8-2. Harris left without recording an out.

Senior Mario Gonzalez then took the mound, but he was making his first appearance in two years. An error by the shortstop allowed two more runs to score, and after not getting a called third strike, Joe Novis belted a two-run homer to make it 12-2.

Still no outs.

"We're just so young and so inexperienced," Coomes said, "and we really don't have that one person that has stepped up and been a leader. We just fall apart and haven't pieced it together.

"I don't know what you call this. It's hard to figure out."

Lake Placid staved off the 10-run mercy rule in the bottom half of the sixth, after Dylan Weber-Callahan's run-scoring single. The Green Dragons had just four hits against McKeel Academy starter Corey Plasky, who went all seven innings and recorded the victory.

Samperi jumped on Plasky in the first inning, however, hitting a wind-aided, two-run homer over the left-field fence. On the mound, Samperi was effectively erratic, mixing two strikeouts with six walks before a high pitch count took effect.

"David is not the kind of guy who's going to pound the strike zone," Coomes said. "He's going to be around the plate, and sometimes he throws high and sometimes he throws low. But by the end of the season, we'll get him rounded out and into shape."

Lake Placid could receive a boost later this week when infielders Kyle Barber and Colby Delaney, last year's Nos. 3 and 4 hitters, may be cleared to play. Barber hasn't played this year after sustaining an offseason knee injury.