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Baseball: Resilient Terriers Starting To Roll

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By ADAM ADKINS

aadkins@tampatrib.com

Published: March 20, 2009

It's probably too early to refer to Hillsborough's baseball team as the Comeback Kids, but Kenny White's Terriers certainly have shown a penchant for coming from behind as of late.

Hillsborough, which started the season 1-3, is riding a six-game winning streak heading into tonight's district showdown at Plant, and the Terriers have five comeback wins during that stretch.

"They're very resilient. There's no quit in them," White said. "We've come through with some clutch hits and some really good, quality at-bats. Small ball, long ball, every which way you can think about it, we're coming through on top."

Junior IF Dylan Esche has hit safely in all six games during the win streak, going 9-for-18 over that stretch with five extra-base hits and eight RBIs to raise his season average to .387. Esche's hitting streak is second on the team to sophomore OF Roche Woodard (.382), who has hit safely in all 10 games this season.

SWINGING WAY BACK: If it wasn't a surprise to see Jefferson start the season 4-0, it was startling to see the Dragons lose their next four. Nevertheless, Jefferson has gotten back on track by winning its last three, and the offense has been a big reason why.

The Dragons have scored 46 runs during their current win streak. Pacing Jefferson's offense this season has been junior OF Jeff Mills (.333, two homers, 14 RBIs), junior C Alex Rivera (.394, 11 RBIs) and senior IF Chad Taylor (.333, two homers, 12 RBIs).

As good as the offense has been lately, though, Dragons coach Pop Cuesta is concerned with his team's defense, which he said dragged the team down during its four-game skid.

"That's an area where we thought we were going to be real strong, but we're just kicking it too much," he said. "Hopefully we can just put that behind us and play some better baseball."

TURNING IT AROUND: A 3-5 record isn't something to smile about for most teams. But for Citrus Park Christian, it's certainly something to hang their hat on considering the program hadn't won more than two games in a season the previous four years, according to first-year Coach Pete Diaz.

"The baseball program is definitely up-and-coming," said Diaz, who has no seniors and carries two sixth-graders on the roster. "I'm positive that we are going to start turning things around."

The Eagles have done well offensively. Johnathan Schweinshaupp (.591, six RBIs), Michael Mauriello (.526, five RBIs) and Fonzie Diaz (.471, 11 RBIs) lead a team hitting a collective .420.

EXTRA BASES: Freedom baseball coach Jonathan Reinebold, who was in his first season with the Patriots, resigned his position. Assistant coach Nick Cardieri, the son of former USF baseball coach Eddie Cardieri, has taken over the team for the remainder of the season.

Reporter Adam Adkins can be reached at (813) 259-7616.

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