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Baseball: Land O' Lakes Keeps Bragging Rights

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By RICK HARMON

Tribune correspondent

Published: March 13, 2009

LAND O' LAKES - Both coaches agreed Thursday's crosstown game between Sunlake and Land O' Lakes didn't mean much toward ultimate goals.

But the players involved probably had a different view.

The Gators scored 8 runs in the sixth inning en route to an 11-4 victory at Calvin Baisley Field to earn bragging rights – for at least three weeks. The two schools aren't scheduled to play again this season but could meet at some point in the Spruce Creek tournament during Spring Break.

The big hit in the inning for Land O' Lakes (7-1, 6-0 Sunshine Athletic Conference) was a bases-loaded, pinch-hit double by Patrick Dudkiewicz that erased a 4-3 Seahawks lead. The Gators went on to send 13 batters to the plate and scored all 8 runs before an out was recorded.

"[I think] they got caught up in the moment," said Sunlake coach Dick Rohrberg said. "We missed a ton of signs. Not that you would have noticed but we probably missed 8 or 9 signs. We played not to lose. The first four [innings], we played with confidence and played to win and put a lot of pressure on them."

Sunlake (4-4, 2-3 SAC) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the second inning playing the way the Seahawks have all season. Pablo Rivera led off the inning with a walk and stole second. Connor Coplon followed with an infield single, moving Rivera to third. Rivera scored on a sacrifice fly by Ray Clark and one out later, Coplon stole second and then scored on a single by Sean Rogers.

The Gators scored their first of 10 unearned runs in the third to cut the Sunlake lead to 2-1. Zach May led off with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. One batter later, May stole third and scored when the throw went into left field.

"We had a bad play that led to their first run and some other mistakes like pitchers leaving the ball up over the middle of the plate instead of hitting their spots," Rohrberg said. "You can't do that with good teams and Land O' Lakes is a good team. We had them down and put pressure on them but we let them back in the game."

But the Seahawks came right back in the fourth inning. Coplon reached on an error to start the inning and was pinch-ran for by Alex Greco. Greco went to second on a single by Clark and both scored on a double by Kevin Tripp.

Land O' Lakes cut the lead to 4-3 when lead-off batter Curt Hilgenberg reached on an error and moved to second on a passed ball. Nick Pardo followed with a single to center and moved to second when Hilgenberg scored on a close play at the plate. One batter later, Pardo scored on a sacrifice fly by Austin Aubuchon.

Sunlake starter Coplon came out to start the sixth inning but was pulled after Pardo reached on an error to lead off the inning.

"We battled. We staked them to a lead," said Land O' Lakes coach Cal Baisley. "Connor's pretty good. He's a good pitcher. They gave us a couple back. I told our guys I was proud of them – they battled. We had a lot of guys come through for us."

Coplon, who did not get a decision in the game, was pulled because of a pitch count. He struck out 7 and threw 82 pitches.

"He was doing pretty well but we need to bring him back for district [games] next week," Rohrberg said. "We thought about pulling him sooner but he was pitching well and asked to stay in."

The Gators own a 2-0 record against the upstart Seahawks. Last year, Land O' Lakes prevailed 7-1. Last year was Sunlake's first season after the school opened in the fall of 2007 with mostly students that had previously attended Land O' Lakes.

"A couple of years from now, it won't matter as much," Baisley said. "Most of them played here. No one wants to lose to their neighbor. [Sunlake] has come a long way and they're going to win their share of games."

Added Rohrberg: "It would be nice to have bragging rights for about three weeks but the big thing is if we can come back and win a district game [today vs. Hudson] and win a couple next week [at Wiregrass Ranch on Tuesday, Hernando on Thursday and at Springstead on Friday] we'll be in pretty good shape in district.

"You have to look at what's important … this is important. Anytime you have a rival right across town, it's important. But you have to look at the big picture – beating Land O' Lakes doesn't get you in the state final four."

Next year, the game(s) will have even more importance as both schools will be in the same district.

Sunlake 020 200 0 — 4 6 5
Land O' Lakes 001 208 X — 11 6 1

W—May (2-1). L—Rivera (0-1). 2B—Tripp (S); Downum, Costa, Dudkiewicz (LOL). Records—S 4-4, LOL 7-1.

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

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