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Palma Ceia Riding Momentum

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By NICHOLAS J.E. MURRAY The Tampa Tribune

The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 12, 2008

With all the pitches a Little League team's players throw during an All-Star season, sometimes just one can define a team.

That's the case for the Palma Ceia Junior League softball team, which opened the Junior League World Series in Kirkland, Wash., with a 13-2 win against Windsor, Ontario, on Sunday afternoon.

The pitch came a week ago today, in Fort Myers, during Palma Ceia's 11-7 win in 12 innings against Bloomingdale.

With the game tied 6-6 going to the bottom of the seventh, Bloomingdale loaded the bases with two outs, and Olivia Cuellar worked a 3-2 count against pitcher Ashley Cozart. Then, before the next pitch was thrown, lightning struck and both teams were pulled from the field.

Palma Ceia's players sent their coaches from the dugout, so they could meet alone. Manager Kevin Franklin said after the game it was one of the most remarkable things he'd seen as a manager.

"The girls formed a circle on their own, they sat there, they all held hands," he said. "They discussed it and focused on the positive. They said, 'We're going to play our best, play strong defense.' They said positive things to the pitcher and then they held a prayer."

Franklin had already decided he was going to bring in Caroline Ellis upon the game's resumption. Despite the pressure of knowing her first pitch could end the game on a walk, Ellis threw strike three, sending the game into extra innings.

"That was amazing how she pulled off a strike," teammate Natalie Franklin said by phone. "That showed that we could make it through the game, and that we could beat them.

"That boosted our confidence a lot."

Franklin then provided the key hit to put her teammates into the Regional Final, hitting a bases-loaded triple in the top of the 12th before coming home on an overthrow to the plate, putting Palma Ceia up 11-6.

"It gave us a lot of confidence," Blair Martin said. "It showed we can beat any team out there."
Palma Ceia carried the momentum of its win into Wednesday night's final as it defeated Wilkes County (N.C.) 8-3. Kevin Franklin said winning last week and moving on, after a number of the team's members had lost in the Southern Regional a year earlier, felt like all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

"That's what makes a championship team," he said. "All those pieces came together as we moved through the season, and I'll tell you this has been an experience of a lifetime for these girls."

And that has been off the field as much as on. The team was at the Rays-Mariners game in Seattle on Saturday night, and it has been thrilled by the reception it has had from tournament organizers and the opening ceremony.
Palma Ceia resumes play today, playing host Kirkland (Wash.) Little League a 3 p.m. Martin is hoping the team can continue its run of success all the way to a championship.

"That would be great, and I think we can do it," she said. "If we keep our minds and heads in the game we can do it."

Citrus Park Splits First Two Games

Morgan Grove hit a two-run home run in the top of the 10th inning as Citrus Park Little League bounced back from an opening loss at the Big League World Series with a 4-3 victory against San Juan, Puerto Rico, in Kalamazoo, Mich., on Monday.

Grove's homer came after Mya Anderson doubled, and both runs were neccesary as San Juan rallied to score once and had the potential tying and winning runs in scoring position before Grove closed out the game.

Grove pitched all 10 innings, while Andersonfinished with three hits,including a solo home run in the fourth.

In its earlier game, Citrus Park let two leads slip as it lost to Brzeg, Poland, 5-4 in nine innings. Citrus Park led 4-1 after the top half of the sixth but was unable to close out the game. Because of the loss, Citrus Park likely will have to win both of its remaining pool games - against Kalamazoo and Palmdale, Calif. - to advance to the semifinals.

RBI WORLD SERIES: Skyway Little League fell in the Junior final at Angels Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., losing 7-3 to Detroit, which won its third consecutive RBI junior title.

"We just had way too many walks," Skyway manager Chris Chism Sr. said. "Our pitching just died."

Detroit was the only team to beat Skyway in the tournament, winning 12-7 when the teams met in pool play.

Nicholas J.E. Murray can be reached at (813) 259-8243 or nmurray@tampatrib.com

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