By Rod Gipson
MaxPreps.com
Tense Moments in Heated Matchup
The Hillsborough-Plant meeting March 6 not only featured the longest-standing baseball rivalry in Tampa, it also was a matchup of two of the areas' better teams.
Solid pitching and big bats were expected but in the end, the bats definitely outnumbered the solid pitches. But some of those pitches did add to the drama in a game that saw a combined 25 hits, nine errors and two ejections in a 17-10 Hillsborough triumph.
The teams sported twin 6-1 records after the game but Hillsborough gained a slight edge in the Class 5A, District 10 race.
Hillsborough starting pitcher Joey Delgado was ejected from the game in the fifth inning when he threw a pitch behind a Plant batter. Hillsborough assistant coach Bryan Burgess also was ejected after arguing with an umpire in Delgado's defense.
The teams were tied at five and later at 10 before the Terriers scored seven runs in the decisive sixth inning to pull away.
Plant's Preston Tucker had a big game, going 4-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI. Hillsborough's Mario Mitchell had two doubles and knocked in three runs. The two squads will square off April 5 at Hillsborough before potentially hooking up again in the district tournament.
Gaither Takes First Place - Sort Of
The Charles Johnson Invitational track meet saw three boys teams finish in first place March 10. Tampa teams Gaither, Hillsborough and Plant each finished the meet with 107 points.
Meet rules, however, dictate that the team that wins the final event is deemed the overall meet winner. That honor went to Tampa Gaither after its 4x400-meter relay team of Jarvis Giles, Matt Gibney, Brian Tabor and Allen Sampson took first place with a 3:23.54 time. Gaither won two other events at the meet, taking the 100-meter run with Jarvis' 10.64 second dash and the high jump with Aaron Overton clearing six feet.
Gaither was successful on the girls' side as well as the Cowboys scored 129.5 points to outdistance Tampa Bay Tech (93.5), Seffner Armwood (88.5) and Brandon (71). The Cowboys got event wins in the pole vault (Morgan Scherschel, 8 feet), 1,600-meter run (Emily Seymor, 5:40), 300 hurdles (Yesenia Perez, 47:53) and 3,200-meter run (Katie Quick, 12:06).
Largo Quarterback Receives Offer
Largo junior quarterback Leonard Johnson has received a scholarship offer from the University of Iowa, according to Largo coach Rick Rodriguez.
Johnson, 5-foot-11 and 182 pounds, is being recruited as a college cornerback. A three-year starter for the Packers, Johnson ran for 780 yards and passed for 970 with 13 touchdowns in 2006.
Outstanding Pitching Performances
Tampa Alonso junior right-hander Alex Panteliodis had everything working March 8.
Panteliodis, pitching against New Port Richey Mitchell, struck out 11 of the 15 batters he faced in a 14-0 five-inning victory. He retired the other four batters as well as he hurled the first perfect game in school history.
Tampa Cambridge's Garrett Cox had his own stellar outing two days earlier, throwing a no-hitter in the Lancers' 10-0 win against Clearwater Calvary Christian. Cox struck out 12 batters in the five-inning contest. He missed out on a perfect game only because of a fielding error he committed himself.
A 24-hour Roller Coaster
Tampa Gaither's softball squad experienced extreme highs and lows March 7 and 8. After a 4-3 win against perennial softball power Tampa Plant that saw ace Gaither hurler Morgan Grove improve to 10-0 on the season, the Cowboys were set to battle district rival Clearwater Countryside the next day.
But the district showdown turned out to be a mauling as Countryside thumped Gaither 14-0 in just five innings. Gaither, 12-2 on the season, had beaten Countryside 1-0 in the first meeting earlier this season.