Bulldogs Blast Out Of Slump

ZEPHYRHILLS - Tuesday night, the Zephyrhills softball team saved itself.

Had the Bulldogs stumbled against Hernando, Zephyrhills coach Craig Milburn was about do something he had never done before.

"If we didn't hit tonight, tomorrow we were going to have to draw out of a hat for batting order, so I'm glad we kind of came out," Milburn said. "I wasn't really looking forward to drawing out of a hat for a batting order.

"Thirty-seven years, you learn a few tricks."

That trick was averted in a major way thanks to a pelting of Hernando for 13 hits, in a 12-2, six-inning contest. The following night, Zephyrhills pounded Hudson, 14-0.

This is how the first two games of the season went for Zephyrhills. A 6-4 loss to Gulf, which garnered six hits. Then came a 2-0 loss to Pasco, in which the Bulldogs were held to one hit.

Since then, Zephyrhills outscored opponents 37-2, prior to Thursday night's game against Ridgewood.

"The whole process is confidence," Zephyrhills senior Ashley Anderton said. "We started off with really hard competition, and over the past couple of years we've really started kind of good and we got our confidence up. Now we just kind of started off with really good pitching and now we have to get our confidence back up.

"We have heart in the locker room and on the field and ... that's a big deal in hitting."

No one likely would have guessed freshman Lauren Pasquale would be tied with Lacey Cook for the team lead in home runs with one. Tuesday night, she sent one over the left-field fence and into the back of a Chevrolet pickup in the fourth inning.

Pasquale was hitting toward the bottom of the lineup, but a pregame switch placed her in the third spot, and it paid off with the homer and three walks.

"Lauren, watching her in the cage Tuesday night before the game, she was ripping the ball in the cage," Milburn said, "and one of my assistant coaches said let's just flip it, and that's what we did."

The home run was the first high school shot for Pasquale, who plays in outfield, shortstop, pitcher and catcher.

Playing at the varsity level isn't much of an adjustment for Pasquale because of her offseason work.

"I play competitive softball on a regular basis, so it's like I'm playing against the same people I would regularly, it's just more people from my area," she said. "It's really not anything that's way above me or way below me."

Zephyrhills hasn't scored fewer than 11 runs in a week, and that's a trend Milburn likely doesn't mind.

"We've been working hard on it every day," he said of the hot bats. "Monday, we did drills where everything had to be hit up the middle, and if they didn't, they went to back of the line in hitting. I hope that helped a little bit.

"We've still got some kids pressing, and the only way to get out of that press is to start hitting it, so hopefully that's kind of happened."