The ninth inning of Thursday night's game brought back some unpleasant bullpen memories for the Rays. Lucky for them, a pitcher who was responsible for a few of those forgettable moments in the past was around to help bail them out four innings later. ...more

May 9, 2008

SEBRING — Taking advantage of your opponents' mistakes is the mark of a winning team. Sebring used a pair of DeSoto errors to turn a tight game into a rout with a 10-run second inning, and senior center fielder Kyle Long had four RBI to lead the Blue Streaks to a 13-1 victory over DeSoto in a Class 4A-District 10 contest on Friday night at Firemen's Field. Senior Adam Simmons picked up the win by allowing just one hit to go with six strikeouts in five innings in a game that was called because of the 10-run mercy rule. "I used my curveball to set up my fastball," said the Blue Streak right-hander. "I settled down after the first inning and once we got the lead, I just threw strikes. ...more

February 23, 2008

Last season, the Brandon High softball team went 1-13 in district play and finished the year 2-20 overall. Within the first two weeks of this season, however, the Eagles have doubled their win total and are currently 5-3 overall and 2-1 in Class 5A-District 8 play. ...more

February 21, 2008

AVON PARK — Ashton Shirey has started the softball season on fire. The Avon Park senior hurler tossed a complete-game three hitter and also banged out two hits with one RBI to lead the Red Devils to a 7-0 victory over Palmetto in a Class 4A-District 10 game on Friday night. Shirey, who has an assortment of pitches, utilized her change-up and curveball to strikeout six, and the hard-throwing right-hander allowed only one walk. ...more

February 17, 2008

If the old adage that pitching wins championships holds true, first-year Mitchell High School baseball coach Scot Wilcox should be feeling pretty good about his team's chances within what looks to be a hotly contested Class 6A, District 7 field. ...more

February 6, 2008

Class 6A-7 Gaither won the district title last season and returns the 2007 Tampa Tribune Hillsborough County Softball Player of the Year in pitcher Morgan Grove. Countryside advanced to regionals as the runner-up, but made it to the 6A state final four where the team lost to Miami Palmetto. Sickles will be led by Troy-bound pitcher Khrystyne Ely, who was a Tribune first-team selection as a junior. Alonso battled for a fourth-place finish in the regular-season standings while Mitchell and St. Petersburg slipped to the bottom of the district. ...more

February 4, 2008

Now the Los Angeles Dodgers have a star center fielder to go with their popular new manager. ...more

December 7, 2007

Second baseman Kaz Matsui finalized a $16.5 million, three-year contract with the Houston Astros on Sunday, a little more than a month after helping the Colorado Rockies to their first World Series appearance. ...more

December 3, 2007

As quick as Devil Rays officials can be to laugh off whatever outrageous trade rumor might be floating around on a given day, their ears and minds are always open. ...more

November 7, 2007

Julio Lugo has one of Manny Ramirez's baseball cards hanging by his locker, only there's something out of place: The slugger is wearing a Cleveland Indians uniform. ...more

October 11, 2007