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Plant can't find a way this time

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By ADAM ADKINS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 26, 2009

PORT ST. LUCIE - Plant's Class 5A state semifinal matchup Monday night with Stuart South Fork was the type of game the Panthers had been in many times this season - tightly contested heading into the late innings.

It was the type that more often than not, the Panthers found a way to win. Unfortunately for Plant, this one wasn't in the cards.

South Fork broke through with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning on a pair of two-out hits against Plant ace Mychal Givens, and Bulldogs pitcher Tyson Young went the distance by keeping the Panthers off-balance in a 5-2 Plant loss at Tradition Field.

"We grinded all year," Plant coach Dennis Braun said. "We just came up a bit short."

South Fork struck first in the first, managing a pair of runs on one hit by taking advantage of a Panthers error. Plant scratched out one in the second on an RBI single by Stan Rowe, and tied the game in the fourth when Mike Demo led off with a triple and scored on a balk.

But the Panthers couldn't manage any more offense, and Young did a good job limiting their scoring chances in the latter innings, allowing one hit and three base runners in the final three innings. Plant had a runner thrown out at home to end the second, and left a pair on in the third.

"They got timely hitting, and we couldn't put our hits together. That was really all that happened," Plant senior Graham Ramos said. "Usually we can get a base hit here, a base hit there like in the same inning. But we really couldn't string them together."

South Fork didn't have much more success against Givens, who struck out 11. In fact, three of the Bulldogs' six hits came in the decisive sixth. After striking out the leadoff man, Givens yielded his only walk of the game and Robert Bednar followed with a single to put the go-ahead run in scoring position.

Blake Nehls broke the tie with an RBI single, and Nick Guillotte followed with a two-run double to make it a 5-2 game. It was the only time South Fork managed consecutive hits against Givens.

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