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5A: Dunedin advances to state semis

By Bob Putnam, Times Staff Writer
In print: Saturday, May 10, 2008

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DUNEDIN — Down by four runs and facing a befuddling pitcher, Dunedin sure seemed to be in trouble.

Falcons coach Tom Hilbert, though, was undisturbed.

He simply kept the faith and his team practiced everything he preached. They were patient on offense. They were smothering on defense. And Hilbert pushed every button but the one marked panic.

Dunedin's perseverance paid off. The Falcons scored two runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to pull out an improbable 6-5 victory over North Port (18-13).

The momentum carried over to the second game of the best-of-three series with the Falcons cruising to a 12-0 victory that was called after five innings because of the mercy rule.

By sweeping Friday's doubleheader, Dunedin (23-6) advances to the Class 5A state semifinals for the first time since 2002. The Falcons face Brandon on Wednesday at Sarasota's Ed Smith Stadium.

"We were in a tough spot in that first game," Hilbert said. "North Port's pitcher was as good as advertised."

Bobcats pitcher Henry Manna confounded the Falcons in the first game, leaving them lunging and lurching for pitches that looked like one thing but were another. Through five innings, he allowed one run and struck out eight.

Dunedin then started putting their bats together. The big blow in the sixth inning came on Ryan Schneider's two-run triple that cut the deficit to 5-3. In the seventh, the Falcons loaded the bases before Jamison Sweat brought home the tying run on an error and Clay Kollenbaum singled in the winning run.

"I really thought we were going to be down one game," Kollenbaum said. "We just kept finding ways to get hits and kept it going."

Kollenbaum came up big in the second with two home runs and five RBIs. He also pitched a one-hit shutout.

"This is the most amazing feeling to win like this and go to state," Kollenbaum said.

Bob Putnam can be reached at

putnam@sptimes.com or

(727) 445-4169.