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Softball: Tampa Catholic slips past AHN in semifinal

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By SCOTT PURKS

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 23, 2009

TAMPA - Tampa Catholic was not simply expected to win Wednesday's Class 3A-District 11 semifinal, it was expected to win big against Academy of the Holy Names - a team the Crusaders had outscored a combined 20-1 in two previous meetings.

That's why - after slipping past the Jaguars with a 4-2 victory - Tampa Catholic was breathing a rather huge sigh of relief.

In the top of the seventh inning, Academy scored two runs and had runners on second and third with no outs.

Tampa Catholic, however, quickly got the next three outs, the first by cutting down a runner at the plate on a squeeze bunt. TC pitcher Tory BoHannon made the play by scooping the ball and flipping it to catcher Alyse Johnson, who made the tag.

"That was huge," Tampa Catholic coach Vern Tatum said.

TC (15-2) will play for the district title tonight at 7 against St. Petersburg Catholic, which defeated Clearwater Central Catholic 4-0 in Wednesday's other semifinal. SPC handed the Crusaders their only two losses this season, 2-1 and 6-1.

Class 5A-8

LITHIA - For the third consecutive year, Bloomingdale and Newsome will play for the district title.

In the semifinal round, Bloomingdale senior pitcher Kaylyn Camacho pitched a two-hit shutout to lead the Bulls in a 7-0 victory against Brandon, while Newsome used a five-run rally in the third inning to cruise past Wharton, 7-2.

The championship will be played at Newsome tonight at 7.

Bloomingdale (20-7) hasn't defeated Newsome (22-5), the two-time defending champ, since 2006.

Nick Williams

Class 5A-7

NEW PORT RICHEY - Land O' Lakes beat Ridgewood, 11-1, in a five-inning, mercy rule-shortened contest and will face River Ridge in tonight's Class 5A-District 7 championship game.

In the bottom of the second and the score tied at 1, Jessica Figueredo's grounder scored Cristina Rosario. Sam Adamo and Loren Smith added RBI singles to make it a 4-1 game.

Smith homered in the fourth, and the Gators put the game away with a six-run fifth inning.

Land O' Lakes, the district's top seed, will face second-seeded River Ridge tonight at 7.

Eddie Daniels

Class 6A-7

Countryside's walking wounded added another casualty, but survived to advance to the district title game with a 2-0 win against Gaither.

Alyssa Bache struck out 12 and held off two late-inning Gaither rallies for the win. The Cougars will face Mitchell, which knocked off Sickles 2-1 in the other semifinal. The teams will meet Friday at 7 p.m. at Gaither.

Bache struck out seven straight by the end of the third inning and was staked to a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Gaither made things tricky, putting runners on first and third in the sixth before Bache got a strikeout and a weak grounder to first. In the seventh, Gaither loaded the bases with two outs, but Bache ended the game with a strikeout.

Jeff Berlinicke

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