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Baseball: Gators Freshman Impressive In Debut

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 26, 2009

ZEPHYRHILLS - With the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the third inning and the score tied at 2, Land O' Lakes coach Cal Baisley went to his bullpen.

The call went to freshman Brad Hencke to make his varsity debut Thursday at Zephyrhills. Hencke got out of the jam, getting the Bulldogs' Kenten Monbarren to fly out to end the inning. Four innings later, the lefty had earned his first varsity victory as the Gators remained undefeated with a 9-3 win.

"I told him, 'Bases loaded, go get 'em, buddy' '' Baisley said. "He's going to be pretty good. He was in a groove."

Land O' Lakes (3-0, 2-0 Sunshine Athletic Conference) with 6 unanswered runs in the final three innings. The Gators took advantage of shaky Zephyrhills fielding and Bulldogs pitching that had trouble finding the plate. Zephyrhills (3-1, 2-1) committed five errors and yielded six walks and hit three batters.

"It was sloppy," Baisley said. "We left some runs out there. We've got to get better as the year goes on."

Land O' Lakes left 12 runners on base, nine in scoring position. Zephyrhills, who managed only three hits off Gators starter Brad Renner, left 10 stranded in the first four innings. Hencke retired the final 10 batters he faced.

"It was pretty good ballgame for three innings," said Zephyrhills coach Bruce Cimorelli. "But then it slowed down and we couldn't throw strikes. We haven't hit the ball all year. We've lucked out the last couple of games. We haven't hit well as a team at all."

Zephyrhills' 3-4-5 hitters – Tyler Guy, Cole Miragula and Austin Adams – were a combined 1-for-9 with six strikeouts. They did manage to draw three walks.

Land O' Lakes broke the game open in the fifth inning when it converted four singles and two hit batsmen into three runs.

Second baseman Austin Costa was the hitting star for the Gators as he went 4-for-4 with a double hitting ninth in the lineup. Land O' Lakes' Austin Aubuchon (2-for-5) was the only other player for either team with more than one hit.

Land O' Lakes 200 131 2 — 9 9 2
Zephyrhills 200 100 0 — 3 3 5
W—Hencke (1-0). L—Wilcox (1-1). 2B—Costa (LOL); Mitchell (Z). Records—LOL 3-0, Z 3-1.

Correspondent Rick Harmon can be reached at tampabaystringer@gmail.com.

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