Softball super seven 1. River Ridge (16-1): Even when the Royal Knights are off — like allowing four early runs against Wesley Chapel — they’re on. Melissa Moore led River Ridge to a 15-5, five-inning victory over the Wildcats. 2. Hernando (10-2): Few teams are hotter than the Leopards, who ...
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Wed. March 20, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. | Matt Baker
Girls player of the year Amanda Hayes, So., Mitchell Why we picked her: Hayes was the top offensive threat on the North Suncoast’s best team in a decade. She scored four goals in a season-opening win over Hudson and didn’t slow down. Hayes finished with a team-best 33 goals and ...
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Sat. March 16, 2013 at 8:03 p.m. | Matt Baker
TRINITY — Land O’Lakes left no doubt Friday as to who’s the top team in Pasco County. The Gators rolled to a 14-4 win at Mitchell and are off to a school-record 11-0 start. It was a competitive contest for a while. Mitchell took a 3-2 lead into the fifth ...
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Fri. March 15, 2013 at 10:51 p.m. | Darek Sharp
Baseball super seven Results through Wednesday 1. Land O’Lakes (10-0): The Gators claim to win with pitching and defense, but their hitting’s not bad, either. Six regulars are batting at least .346, and four have double-digit RBI totals. 2. Mitchell (9-2): A six-game winning streak — including a 14-2 throttling ...
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Thu. March 14, 2013 at 5:04 p.m. | Matt Baker
Softball super seven Results through Tuesday 1. River Ridge (12-1): A 1-0 loss to Plant doesn’t hide the Royal Knights’ talent. River Ridge also knocked off Seminole and defending state champ Durant last week and blew out rival Mitchell 11-0 Tuesday. 2. Gulf (11-1): The Buccaneers seemed to have rebounded ...
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Wed. March 13, 2013 at 6:35 p.m. | Matt Baker
NEW PORT RICHEY — Cobi Johnson had struck out 10 batters in four innings, and all he had to show for it was a 1-0 deficit. So Johnson took matters into his own hands. His two-out single tied the game and Mitchell went on to a 6-1 win over River ...
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Sat. March 09, 2013 at 12:14 a.m. | Darek Sharp
Mitchell standout middle hitter Jessika Hester has signed to play volleyball at Webber International. The Sunshine Athletic Conference player of the year earned first-team all-North Suncoast honors as a senior. She led the Mustangs in three major statistical categories: kills (255), aces (74) and digs (275). Hester also had 10 ...
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Fri. March 08, 2013 at 10:09 a.m. | Matt Baker
Softball super seven 1. River Ridge (8-0): Ernie Beck’s Royal Knights have outscored opponents 105-11, and ace Makenzie Goluba has only allowed one earned run. Competition in PHU’s tournament this weekend will be fierce and show how strong River Ridge is. 2. Gulf (9-0): The Buccaneers have been almost as ...
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Thu. March 07, 2013 at 3:16 p.m. | Matt Baker
Baseball super seven 1. Land O’Lakes (9-0): The victories aren’t coming as easily, with the last three wins by one run each, but they’re still rolling in. Josh Nissen, Alex Reynolds and Kyle Sheffield are all batting at least .500. 2. Wiregrass Ranch (7-1): Aside from a blowout loss to ...
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Thu. March 07, 2013 at 2:58 p.m. | Matt Baker
Mitchell sophomore Donnie Gabrelcik turned in an impressive performance at the pre-qualifying event for the upcoming Tampa Bay Championship at Innisbrook. The 16-year-old shot a 75 to finish in the top 30 in the event at Fox Hollow, Mustangs coach Rick Hyatt said. Gabrelcik was the conference champion and earned ...
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Thu. March 07, 2013 at 1:09 p.m. | Matt Baker
With winter sports wrapping up this week, baseball is swinging into focus. Here are the North Suncoast’s five biggest questions after the season’s first few games, plus a look at some of 2013’s top early performers: Five early questions 1. How will Land O’Lakes rebound from 2012? The Gators have ...
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Thu. Feb. 28, 2013 at 1:01 p.m. | Matt Baker
NEW PORT RICHEY — There’s a drill Gulf uses from time to time, where the Buccaneers’ defense must get 21 consecutive outs. Any error by any player, and the team must start over at zero. The pressure builds with each hit as the Bucs try to do what they could ...
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Wed. Feb. 27, 2013 at 9:40 p.m. | Matt Baker
Although the basketball season continues over the next few days with boys state championships in Lakeland, the North Suncoast’s year is already over. We’ll announce our all-area honors next month. In the meantime, here’s a look back at some of the other notable players, teams and moments from the 2012-13 ...
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Tue. Feb. 26, 2013 at 2:59 p.m. | Matt Baker
HUDSON — Mitchell’s game at Fivay on Thursday served as the last tuneup before district play. And the Mustangs appear to be more than ready. In its most complete effort of the season Mitchell defeated Fivay 11-1. An eight-run third inning put the margin at 10 leading to a mercy-rule ...
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Thu. Feb. 21, 2013 at 10:28 p.m. | Darek Sharp
BROOKSVILLE — A difficult rivalry has developed over the past two seasons between Nature Coast and district foe Eustis, and that rivalry helped fuel the Sharks’ departure from the Class 5A state playoffs. The Panthers, who had lost all three previous meetings this season with Nature Coast, eliminated the Sharks ...
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Tue. Feb. 19, 2013 at 10:39 p.m. | Derek J. LaRiviere