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Saladino Tournament: DeFranco pitches Gaither to semis

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By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: April 9, 2009

BRANDON - When Gaither's Michael DeFranco arrived Wednesday morning at Brandon High to prepare for the Cowboys' Saladino Tournament quarterfinal matchup against Wharton, he thought there might be a chance he would take the mound.

"I thought there was one-in-a million chance I would get one inning," DeFranco said.

The odds turned out a little bit better. Not only did DeFranco get an inning, he also got the start. And the junior right-hander, who had thrown all of one inning this season, seized the opportunity.

DeFranco tossed 52/3 quality innings to help the Cowboys beat Wharton 9-3 and reach the semifinals of the 29{+t}{+h} annual tourney. It was an all-too-familiar scene in the tournament, which routinely has players rise to the occasion with unexpected performances.

"You have to have something like that to win this tournament," Cowboys coach Frank Permuy said.

A throwing error in the third opened the door for the Cowboys' first three runs, and two errors in the sixth led to three more as Gaither built an 8-0 lead. Zach Jackson went 3-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored, and Drew Doty went 2-for-3 with an RBI and run scored to lead the Cowboys.

DeFranco shut out the Wildcats through five innings before running into trouble in the sixth, when Wharton took advantage of consecutive walks to start the inning with three hits to push three runs across.He gave way to lefty Dylan Hathcock, who got out of the inning with a ground ball and pitched a scoreless seventh.

"This was fantastic to get a win, especially in a spot like this in the tournament," said DeFranco, who allowed nine hits while striking out four. "Anyone can get a win in a regular-season game, but this is big. We move on to the next round, and we're one step closer."

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