DIXIE SENIOR BOYS BASEBALL

Through two tournaments and seven games, the Spring Hill Dixie Seniors (age 14) All-Stars hadn’t tasted defeat.

That all changed Monday night, when the Hernando County bunch ran into West Volusia in the State Tournament at Sebring’s Max Long Recreational Complex. Spring Hill suffered its first loss, 6-1.

By bouncing back with a 7-6 win over Bartow on Tuesday, Spring Hill earned another shot at West Volusia on Wednesday night.

That second chance produced a tremendous turnaround. Spring Hill trounced West Volusia, 13-2 in five innings, setting up a third meeting Thursday at noon for the Pool B title.

Unfortunately for the locals, West Volusia captured the rubber match, 8-4, advancing to a winner-take-all championship tilt with Pool A champ West Seminole later in the day.

“We’re disappointed, of course,” Spring Hill Head Coach Vito Tambasco Sr. said. “Boys will be boys. They’re OK. They’re looking forward to high school and they’ll start playing there. We had a good run. These were the best guys I’ve ever had, the best parents I ever had.”

If Spring Hill (9-2 overall, 4-2 states) had knocked off West Volusia, it would have had a shot at redemption for a loss to West Seminole in last year’s Junior Boys (age 13) state finale.

One bad game

Take away West Volusia and Spring Hill performed up to par, starting with Saturday’s 14-1 whitewash of Okeechobee in five innings.

On Sunday, Spring Hill rolled through Liberty County, 16-6 in six innings.

Vito Tambasco Jr. hit a grand slam and earned the win on the mound Saturday, striking out nine in five innings. Jonathan Brosher added a home run and four runs batted in, while James Leyden registered three RBI.

Against Liberty County, Tambasco Jr. went 2-for-4 with two RBI, as did C.J. Martinez. Scott Dwyer, the winning pitcher, was 2-for-3 and drove in four. Jace Bordonaba had a 2-for-2 night, posting two RBI.

Dwyer earned a second victory and plated one run versus Bartow, throwing 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Tambasco Jr., Peloro and Frankie Gomez each had a RBI, and P.J. Blackwood plated a pair of runs.

“We’re hitting well,” Coach Tambasco said prior to Wednesday’s game. “We’re fielding well. Everything seems to be pretty good. Just one game we ran into a bad break here, a bloop hit there, then one high pitch (for a home run) and that was it.”

As Juniors, Spring Hill had defeated West Volusia twice, but Tambasco Sr. noted that West Volusia picked up a couple new players.

“We know we can beat West Volusia,” Tambasco Sr. said. “Our pitching is intact. Now we’ve got to go out and perform.”

That’s exactly what happened Wednesday. Tambasco Jr. struck again, going 2-for-3 with a three-run homer. Bordonaba, Gomez, Brosher and Peloro combined for seven hits and seven RBI. Dwyer notched his third win, permitting one hit across three frames.

“The strike zone was wide (on Monday) and we did not adjust to it,” Tambasco Sr. said. “The strike zone (Wednesday) was a little more to our liking. Bring it into our zone and we’re going to hit you.”

However, things changed on Thursday afternoon, and Spring Hill couldn’t pull out what turned into a best-of-3.

“They hit the ball a little bit better today. That was the whole difference,” Tambasco Sr. said afterward. “We hit the ball somewhat. The timely hitting was not there as much. They had timely hitting and scored the runs.

“We played good, but they played a little better than us. Hat’s off to them. They beat us and deserved to go on.”

Spring Hill, which won the District 6 crown last month, was one of three teams from that district that remained alive entering Wednesday’s action. San Antonio and Sumter were still playing in Pool A.

Only Hernando, the district’s third-place finisher, had been eliminated up to that point. The team from Brooksville went 1-2, sandwiching a Sunday triumph over Okeechobee, 11-1 in five innings, between a Saturday 8-7 loss to Liberty County and a 9-4 defeat at the hands of Bartow on Monday.

Dixie Youth League Senior Boys (age 14) State Tourney
at Sebring’s Max Long Recreational Complex

07-14:
(Pool B championship)
West Volusia 8, Spring Hill 4
Records – Spring Hill (9-2 overall, 4-2 states).

07-13:
Spring Hill 13, West Volusia 2 (5 inn.)
SH – Vito Tambasco Jr. 2-for-3, 3-run HR; Jace Bordonaba 3-for-4, 2 RBI; Frankie Gomez 1-for-2, 2 RBI; Jonathan Brosher 1-for-1, 2 RBI; John Peloro 2-for-3, 1 RBI; Scott Dwyer WP, 3 IP, 1 H.

07-12:
Spring Hill 7, Bartow 6
SH – Vito Tambasco Jr. 2-for-4, 1 RBI; John Peloro 1-for-2, 1 RBI; Frankie Gomez 1-for-2, 1 RBI; P.J. Blackwood 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Scott Dwyer 1-for-3, 1 RBI, WP 2.2 IP, 0 R, 5 K.

07-11:
West Volusia 6, Spring Hill 1
SH – C.J. Martinez 1-for-3, 1 3B; John Peloro 1 RBI; Vito Tambasco 1-for-3, 1 R.
Bartow 9, Hernando 4
HER – Justin Young 2-run HR; Joel Singer 2-for-3; Tyler Allen 2-for-3.
Records – Hernando (4-4 overall, 1-2 states).

07-10:
Hernando 11, Okeechobee 1 (5 inn.)
HER – Brent Stentz Jr. pitches complete game.
Spring Hill 16, Liberty County 6 (6 inn.)
SH – Scott Dwyer WP, 2-for-3, 1 3B, 4 RBI; Vito Tambasco Jr. 2-for-4, 2 RBI; C.J. Martinez 2-for-4, 2 RBI; Jace Bordonaba 2-for-2, 2 RBI.

07-09:
Spring Hill 14, Okeechobee 1 (5 inn.)
SH – Vito Tambasco Jr. 2-for-4, hits grand slam, 4 RBI, WP, 5 IP, 1 R, 9 K; Jonathan Brosher 2-for-4, 1 HR, 4 RBI; John Peloro 2-for-3. 2 2B; James Leyden 2-for-2, 3 RBI.

Liberty County 8, Hernando 7

Sports writer Chris Bernhardt Jr. can be reached at 352-544-5288 or [email protected].