Saturday, May 4, 2013
The Cougars were looking to advance in the playoffs for the first time in school history, but were done in by a determined Bulls team Saturday.
The Countryside High School baseball team once again failed to advance past the first round of the playoffs, dropping a 5-2 decision to Wiregrass Ranch in a regional quarterfinal game played at home on Saturday afternoon in Clearwater. Both teams scored twice in the first inning, and the Cougars chased Bulls starter Zach Drury from the game with two runs in the bottom of the inning. But Drury bounced back after being replaced on the mound by his brother, Austin, to hit a big two-out, two-RBI single in the second inning to give Wiregrass Ranch (18-9) a 4-2 lead it would never relinquish. Bulls head coach Jeff Swymer said the victory, the first playoff win in the program's history, was a big one for his young team. "It's huge. To me I think …
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
In an effort to more closely emulate wooden bats and eliminate a banned process called “rolling," the FHSAA approved a measure to allow only bats created by a new process.
High school baseball in Florida will officially switch from using the current aluminum alloy bats to BBCOR bats next year. The bats already are in use by the NCAA. BBCOR stands for Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution. Basically, it’s the bounce-back or trampoline effect the bat’s surface has when the ball makes contact with it. Imagine dropping a tennis ball onto a tennis racket. It bounces much higher than if it were bounced on the ground. The different aluminum alloys used to make bats have this bounce-back or trampoline effect. The result is that hitters get better drive and lift on the ball than they would with a wooden bat. In an effort to more closely emulate wooden bats and eliminate a banned process called “rolling," the Florida …
Friday, April 15, 2011
This week we take a look at senior Countryside Cougar Dominic Monda.
Dominic Monda is one of Countryside's top pitchers. He mans the second spot in the pitching rotation and usually the second spot in the batting lineup. Like most kids, Monda got started playing tee ball. He watched his older brother and sister playing and wanted a piece of the action. After little league, he moved over to AAU travel ball; where he played for seven years before making the Countryside Cougars team his freshman year. Monda plays right field when he is not on the mound. When asked about how he honed in on pitcher and right field, "I've always played both." Monda is looking into St. Petersburg College and Hillsborough Community College to continue his education and baseball career. He is also looking at the University of Long …
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Riding the crest of their 15 inning victory over Pinellas Park, the Clearwater Central Catholic Marauders come out and crush the Green Devils in five innings 11-0.
St. Petersburg pitcher Dylan Bennedict got through the first inning just fine, striking out three batters. However, after fanning Jeff Campbell, Bennedict walked the next three. Ray Fox got an infield hit after the ball was overthrown trying to get a force out at the plate. It was déjà vu all over again, when Eric Simone got the same result during his at bat. A wild pitch and another throwing error, sent the game to 4-0 to start the second inning. A full frame game was not necessary as Clearwater Central Catholic, who is riding the crest of a 15 inning victory over Pinellas Park, crushed the Green Devils in five innings 11-0 Friday at the Dunedin Spring Classic. The Marauders smelled blood in the water. They came right after Bennedict in …
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Countryside jumped out early and held on through seven innings to advance to the second round.
It was a pitcher’s duel all the way. River Ridge’s starting pitcher Thomas Peterson gave up a couple runs in the first inning off of an Eric Russel single to center field. After that, runs were hard to come by. Countryside eventually beat River Ridge 4-1 Tuesday night to advance to the winner's bracket. They play East Lake today. Both starting pitchers Peterson of River Ridge and Dominic Monda of Countryside had great games. Peterson pitched six innings, stricking out nine and giving up three runs. Monda pitched a complete seven innings, punching out 13 batters and giving up only one run. However, Monda was able to get himself out of tricky spots while Peterson was not. “He’s a battler,” Countryside coach Kemo O’Sullivan said of Monda. “We…
Monday, March 28, 2011
Every year, the Toronto Blue Jays sponsor the prestigious tournament that features 13 teams from Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties.
The Dunedin Falcons would love to repeat as champions at the 42nd annual Spring Classic. Last year, they overcame a seven-run deficit in the seventh inning to snatch the championship away from East Lake. Many of those players man Dunedin’s current roster. The annual tournament starts today (March 28) and runs through Friday (April 1) at the Englebert Complex, 1700 Solon Ave in Dunedin. The tournament hosts thirteen different teams across three different ball fields with winners and losers moving into different brackets. The list of competing teams include Dunedin, East Lake, Clearwater Central Catholic, Pinellas Park, Tarpon Springs, Palm Harbor, Countryside. Here’s a look at some area teams and how they fit into the tournament: …
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The first five innings were scoreless. A big sixth inning for Dunedin was all that was needed to win an otherwise tightly contested game.
Mike Clarkson and Vinny Ballantoni are two of the best pitchers in Pinellas County. A game that pitted them against each other was destined to be low-scoring - and it was. Clarkson threw a complete game shutout and scored a run as the Dunedin Falcons edged the Cougars 4-0 Tuesday night. The Dunedin Falcons are notorious for jumping out to early leads. Countryside did very well to hold them to empty frames the first five innings. It was not easy. The Falcons loaded the bases in the top of the third and top of the fourth. Ballantoni got Jordan Savinon and Ben Emery to pop out to end the third. Then he struck out Casey Turgeon to escape the fourth. Dunedin Coach Tom Hilbert was not concerned about the runners left on base. “We want to put …
Friday, March 18, 2011
Clearwater High's two sport athlete adapts quickly to changing sports
Many high schoolers are satisfied playing one sport at the varsity level. Juggling schoolwork, homework, and studying with practice and ballgames can be tough on even the most dedicated student athlete. So imagine how difficult it must be to play two varsity sports? That’s exactly the situation Clearwater High's Kasey Coffin faces as the senior transitions from being a guard on the Tornadoes basketball team to an infielder/pitcher on the baseball team. With the basketball season ending a few weeks ago and the baseball season already in full swing, the two sport star has had little time to adjust to the change. “It’s a little difficult, but if you’re prepared and you’re mentally set, you’re fine,” Coffin admitted recently after a victory …
Friday, March 11, 2011
Reed Avers, a sophomore utility player for the Clearwater Tornadoes, racked up three hits in one inning earlier this season in a lopsided win over Gibbs.
Reed Avers is, for now, an average high school baseball player hoping to land a steady gig as a starting infielder. Or outfielder. Or anywhere his coach Ken Clawson will place him in the lineup. But recently in a game against Gibbs, Avers accomplished something not only did he not envision reaching, but none of his teammates or coaches can recall ever seeing. In the first inning Avers, who batted second in the Tornadoes lineup, had three hits, two RBIs and scored two runs. "I've dreamed of a lot of things but to get three hits in an inning, nah, I never thought of that," Avers said. "I've never heard of this, not even in Little League." The feat was so impressive to Avers, a sophomore, he couldn't ever remember getting two hits in an …
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011
The Tornadoes win for the fifth time in six games; CCC drops to 2-5.
When they met in the season-opening Diamond Classic a month ago, both Clearwater and Clearwater Central Catholic were searching for direction heading into the regular season. Clearwater was trying to incorporate a slew of underclassmen into the lineup while waiting for key players to return from the basketball team, while CCC was dealing with injuries that forced longtime manager Todd Vaughan to use a couple of practice squad players in the tournament. But ever since splitting a pair of games in that preseason series, the clubs have been headed in opposite directions. The Marauders dropped four of its first six games, all in nail-biting fashion, with every game being decided by one run. Clearwater, meanwhile, rebounded from a 2-2 start to …
