KC Dodgers

Florida takes 10-inning thriller from Blue 13s 1-0 http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=9921270&BRD=1579&PAG=461&dept_id=181232&rfi=6 HOUSTON - With each at-bat in the extra innings by a Florida Pony all-star, David Turner was hoping he would be wrong. Crouched in front of the Blue 13's dugout, he told tournament director Duke Schneider that a home run was going to win the suspense-filled contest. The Blue 13s manager was happily wrong through the seventh, eighth and ninth frames, but in the 10th, Turner's premonition was fulfilled. Clean-up hitter Drew Malley lined a 1-2 pitch over the right center-field fence for a 10th inning walk-off home run as Florida eliminated the Blue 13s 1-0 in a Pony 13s South Zone contest at Kyle Chapman Field Tuesday night. The dramatic homer ended a terrific baseball game between 13-year-old boys from Texas and Florida, who fought tooth and nail to keep their respective seasons alive.No doubt, some youngsters in the Tampa, Florida area and here in town will be reliving this contest for the remainder of their summer vacation and well into the new school year. The butterflies in the stomach were alive and well for those fans who took in the well-played contest. "In one sense, it's a relief to all of us that it's over," Turner said. "We've been going at it for three weeks." Way back on July 7, the Blue 13s were facing elimination in their own backyard. Twenty-two days later, possibly on the final night of the baseball season for the Pony 13 all-stars, they finally were ousted. Florida played the NASA all-stars late Tuesday night for the South Zone crown. Florida had to win to force a second meeting this morning at 11. Because of the marathon game, the championship game started 45 minutes later than scheduled. "I'm pleased as I can possibly be," Turner said. "This was a great accomplishment. They (the players) gave us everything." As expected in a game that goes scoreless for so long, both managers tipped their caps to the other team. "That's a great team over there," Florida manager Larry Padron said. "There's a reason why they're state champions. They've got good players and they're well coached." This same Florida team competed in the Bronco World Series in Monterrey, Calif., last summer, earning third place after losing to a team from China. For Malley, easily the biggest and tallest player among the two teams, it was his second home run of the tournament. Up until this tournament, Malley hasn't had many chances to hit homers. "We play on a Colt field. Not too many 13-year-olds hit home runs there," said Padron, noting it's 305 feet down the lines at their home park and 319 to straight-away center. The winning hit came off Blue 13s relief pitcher Shane Hamaker, who was working his third inning. It was a tough break for the righthander. Two innings earlier, he earned his all-star stripes in a huge way. The Tampa Wellswood team had Malley on third and third and Jarryd Reid on second with none out and seemingly ready to end the game in the eighth. With the Blue 13s needing a small miracle, they got it when Hamaker reared back to strike out the next three batters, all on swinging third strikes. That started a stretch of seven consecutive batters that Hamaker retired before Malley deposited the ball over the fence. Dylan Adamek was the starter and he pitched well. "Dylan pitched his rear off tonight," Turner said. It was clear Adamek was tiring in the seventh. After the team's only error, Adamek walked just his second and third batters to load the bases. But Adamek had just enough left in the fuel tanks to get Anthony Ferrera to hit a dying quail that dropped in front of second baseman Scott Talton, who gloved the ball, before winning the foot race with Kyle Allen to the second-base bag and the dramatic inning-ending force out. Talton also ended another Florida threat in the sixth by cleanly fielding a ground ball and throwing to first. Florida starting pitcher Mychael Givens and Ferrara, combined on a six-hit shutout. Ferrara, a lefty, only allowed a walk to Aaron Baker in the 10th during three innings of work. They took us out of the running game - the pitcher and catcher," Turner said. "They knew all our trick plays. They knew how to combat that." with their potent hitting attack, were their own worst enemy on this night. "They took us out of the running game," Turner said. The Blue 13s had golden opportunities. Long before the 10th frame, the team had two players tagged out at home plate. Adamek was tagged out at home as he tried to score on a Jacob Johnson single in the first and Zach McDaniel was tagged out at home, ending a rundown in the fourth. Hamaker was picked off first base in the second and Johnson suffered the same fate at second base in the sixth. McDaniel was thrown out at third base by Florida's right fielder, who fielded a Hamaker single and rifled a throw to third in the sixth. In the seventh, Jerry Gutierrez was on second base with two outs and Adamek hit a soft liner towards Malley at first, who gloved the ball over his head. Had any shorter first baseman been there, the ball sails into shallow right field and the Blue 13s own a 1-0 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. It was that kind of night for the Blue 13s. The state champs made it memorable just as they have for all of July. ©Pasadena Citizen 2003