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Cougars were on the ball

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By DAREK SHARP

dsharp@tampatrib.com

Published: May 13, 2009

PLANT CITY - In a 6A playoff game where neither team could quite come up with the big hit it needed, Gaither High's winning run against Durant was appropriate.

It came on a swing and a miss.

Gaither took the lead on a strikeout pitch that got away from the catcher, and after the second-inning score neither team crossed home plate again as the host Cowboys won 2-1. Durant's season came to an end with a 13-13 mark.

The 6A regional quarterfinal was held May 5 at Gaither.

Though the Cougars were held to three hits for the game they certainly had chances to win. In the fifth inning Jacob Burgess was hit by a pitch and Greg Ibarra walked on four pitches, leading Gaither coach Frank Permuy to pull starter Austen Thrailkill in the midst of a one-hitter.

Durant tried a double steal but Burgess was thrown out at third to slow the potential Cougar rally. Gaither freshman pitcher Alex Mills induced a Brett Jones chopper which did move Ibarra to third but with two outs, Christian Lopez sharply flew out to right.

Still, a Cougar comeback looked inevitable because Gaither kept barely missing put-away chances. In the third inning Zach Jackson hit a ball toward third base that went barely foul, or Gaither would have made its lead 3-1. Durant pitcher Ty Sullivan, who battled through five gutty innings, struck out Jackson after that to end the inning.

In the bottom of the fifth after a leadoff double for Gaither, slugger Brady North hammered a ball which had the feel of a homer but again landed foul. Sullivan came back to strike out North. With Cam Ellis in to pitch the sixth for Durant, the Cowboys again hit a long foul ball that went over the outfield fence. Then Jones made a dramatic catch and throw home to nail a would-be insurance run, possibly setting up Durant to even the score in the seventh inning.

But after a leadoff hit by freshman Trey Oest, Durant hit into a double play. Michael Durig gave his team one last chance with a two-out single but Mills was able to strike out the last Cougar batter.

It was a disappointing end but Durant had plenty to be proud of, namely turning around from a 0-3 start to eventually go two games over the .500 mark. The Cougars had a significant win, beating powerhouse Sarasota to reach the playoffs, and though they lost to Plant City in the Saladino tournament, the Cougars got the last laugh.

Durant edged Plant City 6-5 in the district tourney to end the Raiders' season. Jones had a two-run double as Durant led by two runs but the Raiders scored twice in the sixth on runs by K-Shawn Smith and Ross Kip. Travis Hippler singled in Jeffrey Hall as Plant City tied the game in the top of the seventh, but Brad Sabourin had the game-winning hit for Durant in the bottom half.

Adam Albers, the Cougars' impressive first baseman, finished with a team high batting average of .415. Lopez proved to be quite the slugging second baseman with a team-high 15 RBIs.

Austin Buck led Durant on the mound in wins, four, and strikeouts, 41.

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