News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 34

6C THE NEWS-PRESS, SATURDAY, MAY 10, 2003 Pro football High schools colleges Coin toss to decide Cats' starting QB Riverdale digs an Flip will be between Olmstead and Mastrole early hole, loses big Cougars narrowly victorious Game-winner scored in team's last at-bat Jesuit pitcher Kevin Orihuela Firecats (2-3) at Charleston (2-3) WHEN: 7:30 tonight WHERE: North Charleston (S.C.) Coliseum RADIO: WWCN-AM (770) pitched a two-hitter and struck out eight The top five hitters in Jesuit lineup were a combined for-7 with five walks, a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly, six RBI and nine runs scored. The top two hitters in Jesuit's lineup scored six runs. Jesuit freshman cleanup hitter Ryan Lockwood was 2-for-2 with two runs. Riverdale's only hits were by right fielder Josh Attree and Bess. Although Friday's loss was tough, the Raiders know they had a grand seasoa "It was awesome," said Attree, who transferred from Southwest Florida Christian before the 4 "7 By DAVID DORSEY Florida Firecats coach Ben Bennett said he has developed a high-tech system to determine who will start at quarterback at 7:30 tonight in Charleston, S.C.

"We're going to flip a coin," Bennett said. "It's a game-time decision." With Bryan Sparacino likely out for the season with a right knee injury, Bennett will decide on starting either Tim Olmstead or Ken Mastrole. The Firecats (2-3) will take on the Charleston Swamp Foxes (2-3). Florida defeated Charleston 33-27 on April 12. Last week, during a 38-35 loss to the Birmingham Steeldogs, Olmstead started for the first time as a professional and for the first time since 1997, his senior season in high school.

He threw three touchdown passes and wasn't intercepted. Mastrole joined the Firecats this week. He served the are-nafoothall2 franchise as a starter during the inaugural 2001 seasoa Should Mastrole start tonight, he would be the third starting quarterback in as many weeks for the Firecats. "I could have stayed in Detroit, but I left on my own terms," said Mastrole, who had been the third-string quarterback with the Detroit Fury of the Arena Football League. Although Bennett said he would flip a coin, Mastrole said he expected to emerge as the Tampa Jesuit scores victory in five innings By GLENN MILLER TAMPA The Riverdale High School baseball team's road trip to Tampa didn't turn out the way the Raiders expected.

"We came up here expecting to just walk through, I guess," starting pitcher Darren Bess said. Guess again. The Tampa Jesuit Tigers had other ideas. It was the Tigers who did the walking. They beat Riverdale 10-0 Friday in the Region 3A-3 semifinal in a game shortened to five irinings by the 10-run rule.

"I just wish we could have shown them more of what we're about," Riverdale coach Bob Pringle said. "It wasn't a very good display of baseball tonight Definitely no reflection on the team or the year that we had." The Raiders finish with a 21-10 record and reached the regional semifinals for the second consecutive seasoa Again, they came up two victories short of a trip to the state tournament. Dreams of a trip to the state tournament at Legends Field in Tampa began dissipating in the first inning. Jesuit scored three runs on three hits, a sacrifice bunt and a three-base throwing error. Jesuit added four runs in the second inning, giving Riverdale a 7-0 hole to climb out of before any of its players batted a second time.

practice," Mastrole said of Detroit "But I figured I'd take a pay cut and go play. There's no competition up there during the season unless somebody gets hurt. I couldn't take it any more. "If I can come down here and play well and have a better understanding of the game, I figure I can get a shot in the NFL or get a real shot in afl." Mastrole won't be the other former Firecat making his debut this seasoa Johnny Frost has returned to the team He will see playing time at fullback, linebacker and possibly defensive end. "We're going to throw him right into the fire," Bennett said of Frost.

"He won't start, but he'll get a lot of playing time." Mastrole andor Olmstead will have to contend with Swamp Foxes defensive back Demont Smith. The league's reigning defensive player of the week, Smith has picked off seven passes this seasoa He returned one of those interceptions 52 yards for a touchdown last week "They're the top-rated defense in the league right now," Bennett said. "They're a much better football team." school year. The surroundings and my teammates, you couldn't ask for better teammates." But in the first inning, the chance to make the season even more awesome began slipping away. "We just weren't motivated," Attree said.

"We came out here thinking it would be breeze. We underestimated the competitioa" Although the Raiders lost, they have compiled a 43-21 record over the past two seasons. "We're building a foundation and tradition of Riverdale baseball," Pringle said. The News-Press file photo POSSIBLE STARTER: Ken Mastrole would start at QB tonight for the Firecats instead of Tim Olmstead, if he wins coach Ben Bennett's coin toss. starter for the rest of the seasoa "Tim, he played decent last week," Mastrole said.

"I think he's a guy who will be good. He's still learning the game. "I didn't leave Detroit to be the No. 2 guy." Like Sparacino, Mastrole described himself as a classic dropback passer. He said he has a better grasp for the game than he did two years ago.

"I was learning up there in Pro hockey Riverdale Jesuit 00000 0 21 3403X-109 1 Riverdale: Darren Bess, Steven Porter (3), Matt Elwell (4) and Brian Barker. Jesuit: Kevin Orihuela and Brent Bentley, Michael Moses (5). Bess. Orihuela. 28: Ryan Lockwood (TJ).

38; J. Crumbley (TJ). Records; Riverdale 21-10, Tampa Jesuit 24-7. Florida Everblades BLADES: Still have some of same rivals VEROT: Vikings pounce on Osceola early in game 2303-2004 schedule Home games start at 7.30 p.m. unless noted; road game times TBD By CRAIG HANDEL If time to start calling Barron Collier High's baseball team the Cardiac Cougars.

For the third straight game, Barron Collier scored the winning run in its last at-bat, this time an U-10 thriller over Arm-wood in Region 4A-3 semifinal action Friday night Barron Collier (26-6) will now play Lake Gibsoa a 4-2 winner over Dunedin, on Tuesday night at Cougars Field. "We still have a pulse," Barron Collier baseball coach Ted Parsons told his team. "At this point, it doesn't matter how you win." Winning pitcher Clayton Pisani scored the winning run from second base with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning on Armwood's eighth error of the night "It hurts to lose any way," said Armwood coach Joe Fernandez, whose team battled back from a 9-2 deficit "This just adds a jab in your back" Ross Brezovsky, who had three hits on the night, led off the seventh inning with a single for Barron Collier. Pisani's hard bunt forced him at second, but the relay to first was wild and Pisani went to second. C.J.

Brown walked, which brought up Jody Danca, who saved Pisani's bacon in the top of the seventh with a running catch in left field. "I didn't expect it at all," Pisani said of being told to go home from third. "I thought (the shortstop) had the ball I just put my head down and started running." Designated hitter Ryan Duffy and third baseman Ryan McAn-drew, Barron Collier's Nos. 8 and 9 hitters, combined for four hits and six RBI for the Cougars. "They were awesome," Pisani said.

Parsons said: "When we get our Nos. 8 and 9 guys hitting like that, we're pretty good. If our Nos. 3 and 4 don't do it, our Nos. 8 and 9 guys do." Duffy came up with an opposite-field single to drive in Barron Collier's first two runs in the second inning.

McAndrew followed with a sacrifice fly and Brezovsky ended the four-run inning with an RBI hit Brandon McArthur's two-run homer in the third cut the Cougars' lead in half in the third but Duffy and McAndrew had run-scoring singles to put their team up 6-2 in the bottom of the inning. Barron Collier took advantage of three Armwood errors to score three more times. But just when it seemed Barron Collier was ready to run away, Armwood scored five times in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie the game at 9-9. McAndrew's sacrifice fly put Barron Collier up 10-9 but Arm-wood tied it again. "All our kids came up to him and said, We'll get it back," Parsons said.

"That's why this is the best team I've ever coached. I don't care what happens from here on out" October Home Away I I From Page 1C 33 From Page 1C 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17fluG 18AUG "FLO 20 21 22 23 24L0U 25L0U 26 27 28 29 30 31 Gw) November HomeCTl Away 1 GWI 2 3 4 5 lb. 6 7j 8 16' 17 18 19 20 21 FLO 22 FLO 24 25 26S.C. 27 GRB 28R0A 29 30 FLO I drilled a triple to the base of the left-field wall for another run. He scored on a wild pitch before Drew's double plated Matt Akia "Our bats woke up," Drew said.

"Definitely a good, breakout game for us," Newman said. "We haven't been hitting the ball as well as we wanted. Right now, everything is coming together." The victory sets up a rematch of last year's regional senufinal between Verot and Tampa Jesuit, a 10-0 winner Friday over visiting Riverdale. The Vikings beat Jesuit a year ago in Tampa with ace Andrew Knox on the mound, but lost to Bartow one game later to miss advancing to the Final Four. Knox, 4-2, will be on the mound Tuesday for Bishop Verot, which will be at home with a shot at its fourth trip to the Final Four since 1994, when the Vikings won the state championship.

"It has all the makings of a great ball game," said Verot coach Tom LoSauro. "Andrew doesn't have to pitch a perfect ball game. He just has to have a quality outing." which includes a mid-to-high 80s fastball, quality changeup and curveball that got sharper as the game progressed. "I was choking my curveball a little bit in the beginning. "I got a good rhythm there.

I was keeping the ball low," said Newman, who struck out the side in the fifth and sixth innings. "My arm just felt' like it was getting stronger each and every inning." With Newman shutting down the Warriors (20-9), Bishop Verot (22-10) pounced early, getting two runs on three hits in the second inning and five runs on five hits in the third. Second baseman Chris Drew got the Vikings on the board first, going after the first pitch from lefthander Kyle Griffith, Osceola's No. 2 pitcher, with two on and two out in the second. Drew just knocked the fading liner over the head of a leaping Osceola shortstop, scoring both runners.

"I knew I had to get something in play," said Drew, who added a run-scoring double to plate the Vikings' final run of the third inning. Newman's single in the third drove in catcher Justin Graham and shortstop Chris Johnson, then left-fielder Richard Thibodeau said. "It's going to be good, there's no question about that." The Everblades are in the Eastern Conference's newly formed 10-team Southern Division, the league's largest. Florida will have some of the same rivals like Columbia, S.C, South Carolina and Greenville, S.C, along with new division opponents in Charlotte, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., and the expansion team from Gwinnett County, Ga At 19 teams, the Eastern Conference is larger than the 13-team Western Conference. Six Western Conference teams Idaho, Bakers-field, Fresno, Long Beach, San Diego and Anchorage, Alaska are moving over from the soon-to-be defunct West Coast I lockey League.

Expansion franchises in Texas arfd Las Vegas are also being added. Brush, who saw the new division alignments for the first time Friday, said he was not sure how the playoffs would work or what considerations would be made for the larger conference. The playoff format will be decided this summer by the league's board of governors. Brush said he would prefer not to have any wild-card games, especially since Florida had season end with a wild-card loss to Greenville. Other than that, Brush did not want to comment on the playoffs.

Lexington, and Richmond, voluntarily suspended operations for the coming season, while Jacksonville received an extension on its voluntary suspeasioa Baton Rouge, Jackson, and New Orleans announced they will not play in 2003-04, and those teams will advise the board of governors of their future plans at the league's annual meeting in June. December Home LJ Away ZD em ti rea y. i 1 2 3 4 5 GRV 6 GRV 7 8 9 MIS 12C0L 13C0L 14 IS 16 17 18 19 FLO 20 a0 21 ,.23. 24 25 26 GWI 27 GWI 28 COL 1 29 30 31 000000 0-032 02S000K-790 Seminole Osceola Bishop Verot Seminole Osceola: Kyle Griffith, (3), Kyle McDowell (4) and Gene Civello. Bishop Verot Alex Newman and Justin Graham.

Newman (4-2). Griffith. 28: Civello (SO). Mike Thompson (SO), Graham (BV), Chris Drew (BV). 38: Richard Thibodeau (BV).

Records: Seminole Osceola (20-9), Bishop Verot (22-10). January Home )' I Away I I fa 1 2 S.C. 3 COB 4 5 6 GRV 7CHA 8 9 FLO 10 GRV 11 12 13 COL 18 ROA ROA 18 19 20 21 22 23pEN 24 PEN 25 Lou 28 27 PEN 28 29 30 S.C. 31 S.C I I TBD I I WAVE: Intentional walk inspires Ankney 's big hit Armwood Barron Collier T098 1192 002 052 1 -042 3011- From Page 1C Armwood: Charley Raley, Josh Boyer (2) and Eric Bauman. Barron Collier J.

Brown, Kyle Leith (5), Clayton Pisani (S) and Ryan Bethea. Pisani. Boyer. HR: Brandon McArthur (A), Brian Pete (A). 2B: Kevin Clark.

Records: Barron Collier 26-6, Arm-wood 18-8-1 February Home ED Away Canterbury's Holmes 6th at state meet The News-Press staff Canterbury's Nathan Holmes 1 2 1 3 GWI 4 5 8 COL Tcr TBD SC- 8 C. 9 10 GWI 12 13MS 14M1S 15 i 16 17 pEN 18 19 20 AUG 21 FLO 27C()B 28CQB 29' March HomeCD Away 1 2 AUG 3 1 4 5 MIS 6 MIS 7 COB 8 9 IB 11 14 CBA "18 "TTTli 19 GRB 20 GRB j----- 24cha 26R0fl 27GNB 28 29 30 Ti 2003-04 ECHL divisional alignment Eastern Conference NORTHERN DIVISION: Atlantic City Boardwalk Bullies, Cincinnati Cyclones, Dayton Bombers, Johnstown Chiefs, Peoria Rivermen, Reading Royals, Toledo Storm, Trenton Titans, and Wheeling Nailers SOUTHERN DIVISION: Augusta (Ga.) Lynx, Charlotte Checkers, Columbia (S.C.) Inferno, Florence (S.C.) Pride, Florida Everblades, Greens- boro (N.C.) Generals, Greenville (S.C.) Grrrowl, Gwinnett (Ga.) Gladiators, Roanoke (Va.) Express and South Carolina Stingrays Western Conference EASTERN DIVISION: Arkansas RiverBlades, Columbus (Ga.) Cottonmouths, Louisiana IceGa- tors, Mississippi Sea Wolves, Pensacola Ice Pilots, and Texas Wildcatters WESTERN DIVISION: Anchorage Aces, Bak-ersfield (Calif.) Condors, Fresno (Calif.) Falcons, Idaho Steelheads, Las Vegas Wranglers, Long Beach (Calif.) Ice Dogs, and San Diego Gulls 2002-03 ECHL divisional alignment Northern Conference NORTHEAST DIVISION: Atlantic City Board walk Bullies, Charlotte Checkers, Greensboro Generals, Reading Royals, Richmond Rene- gades, Roanoke Express, Trenton Titans NORTHWEST DIVISION: Cincinnati Cyclones, 'i Dayton Bombers, Johnstown Chiefs, Peoria Rivermen, Toledo Storm, Trenton Titans, Wheeling Nailers i Southern Conference SOUTHEAST DIVISION: Augusta Lynx, Colum-) bia Inferno, Columbus Cottonmouths, Florida Everblades, Greenville Grrrowl, Pee Dee Pride, South Carolina Stingrays SOUTHWEST DIVISION: Arkansas RiverBlades, Baton Rouge Kingfish, Jackson Bandits, Louisiana Ice Gators, Mississippi Sea Dnnpo'nl' Inn Pilntc "I thought it was stupid. Ankney is a dang good hitter. He came through one time and almost on another." -Adam Davis, Fort Myers baseball player on an intentional walk to Justin Ankney Catcher Erik Johnson, embodying the team's htling identity, stole home in the sixth inning. Meanwhile, left-hander Adam Zak was solid on the mound.

He went 5Vi innings, aUowing two runs and six hits. Zak improved to 9-L Roberts said Fort Myers ace Patrick Wolslagel (10-1) will likely start Tuesday. If he does, itH be on seven days rest The Green Wave will be making their second straight trip to the regional finals. They fell to East Lake last year. Miller, whose team won the Class 5A state championship in 2000, says Fort Myers has a legitimate shot to win the title.

"The year we went we didn't see any pitching better than that," Miller said. They have a chance, sure." competed in the state finals for the third year in a row. Holmes finished sixth in the high jump with a height of 6 feet, 2 inches. He placed eighth in the triple jump with a distance of 41 feet, 10 inches. Holmes also placed Tuesday in the regional finals.

"I don't think there's a better way to inspire a hitter than by intentionally walking the hitter in front of him three times," Ankney said. "That fired me up." Miller's plan worked to perfection in the second inning as Ankney flew out to center field with the bases loaded. Down 4-2 in the third, Miller tried it again, walking Davis to load the bases. This time Ankney made him pay, hitting a single to right to score two runs. "I thought it was stupid," said Davis, who has never been intentionally walked two times in a game let alone three.

"Ankney is a dang good hitter. He came through one time and almost on another." Miller said he was just playing the percentages. "I know (Davis) is their best hitter," he said. "I wasn't going to let him beat us." Fort Myers coach Jimmy Roberts didn't mind the strategy. "Somebody is giving them a darn good scouting report," Roberts said.

"But if they're going to pitch to Adam Davis or Justin Ankney, my heart doesn't flutter. "Give Justin three chances and I'll guarantee you he'll produce." It wasn't just Ankney who contributed Friday. Right fielder D.J. Brady, Fort Myers' No. 8 hitter, had a clutch, one-out single in the third inning that gave the Green Wave a 4-2 lead.

12th in the long jump with a distance of 20 feet Canterbury's Diana Weiner finished with a distance of 84 feet in the discus. April HomeCn Away 1 2 AUG 3 AUG FGCU signings The Florida Gulf Coast University women's cross country team announced trie signings of Barron Collier's Erika Long and Lindsey Gar-ven of Oviedo High on Friday. Long, of Naples, was a four-year varsity letter winner on both the cross country and track teams. KEY: CHA Charlotte. N.C; S.C.

South Carolina; AUG Augusta, GRV Greenville, PEN Pensacola; MIS Mississippi; LOU Louisiana; COB Columbus, Ga. GRB Greensboro, N.C; COL Columbia, S.C; FLO Florence.S.C; GWI Gwinnett, LV. Las Vegas; LB. Long Beach, S.D. San Diego; BKF Bakersfield, ROA Roanoke, Va.

Radio: WWCN-AM (770) Ticket info: 948-7825 The News-Press 110 000 6-i 60 105 001 X-7 80 Seminole Fort Myers Seminole: Phil Weilly, Cody Reed (3) and Rick Nolan. Fort Myers: Adam Zak, Adam Younger (6), Adam Davis (7) and Erik Johnson. Zak (9-1) Weilly. 2B: Brian Campbell (S). 3ft Chase Bubley (FM).

We Grant Massie (S). Records: Seminole 24-4, Fort Myers 28-4.