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Two Pinellas Park teams win Dizzy Dean titles

By Bryan Burns, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, July 15, 2008

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Pinellas Park won two titles at the Dizzy Dean state tournament in Pensacola, as both teams advance to the Dizzy Dean World Series.

The Pinellas Park 8-and-under squad went 5-0 during the tournament and defeated Northwest (St. Petersburg) 11-10 in the title game. It's the third straight year this group of players won a Dizzy Dean state title — they won the 6-and-under tournament two years ago and the 7-and-under championship last year.

The 8-and-under Piranhas head to the Dizzy Dean World Series in Southaven, Miss., on July 25-31.

The Pinellas Park 6-and-under A team also captured a state title, defeating the Pinellas Park B team in the final. Pinellas Park A went 3-0 in the tournament. The 6-and-under Predators will travel to Eastridge, Tenn., for its world series tournament, which starts Friday and ends July 24.

Fossil Park wins a Dizzy Dean state title

St. Petersburg's Fossil Park 10-and-under Dizzy Dean baseball team lost twice in district play to city rival Northwest. The state tournament, well, that was a different story.

Host Fossil Park went 4-1 at the state tournament and defeated Northwest twice in three games — the final victory coming in the championship game — to advance to the Dizzy Dean World Series in Moody, Ala. Northwest, the state runnerup, also advances to the tournament, which begins Saturday and runs through July 23.

Tied at seven going into the final inning of the title game, Fossil Park's Connor Wolfe led off with a double. Mike Chadwell followed with a double to put Fossil Park up 8-7 and scored on Nick Wethington's RBI single for a two-run lead. Fossil Park reliever Justin Dahill closed out the game by giving up only one run and one hit in the bottom half of the inning for the 9-8 final.

Chadwell, who batted .643 and had 10 RBIs for Fossil Park, was named tournament MVP.

Locals squads fall short at sectionals

An opening-round loss to Palma Ceia (Tampa) ended West Pasco's bid for a Little League sectional championship over the weekend in Crystal River. West Pasco committed 10 errors in an 11-4 loss to eventual 13-14 softball champ Palma Ceia but rebounded with wins in its next two games for second place.

Amber Maxey and Nikki Case were standouts for West Pasco on the mound. Case was the victor in both of West Pasco's wins. Another local team, Baypoint/Gulf Beaches, went 0-3 in the tournament.

In other weekend sectional action at Crystal River, the Seminole 9-10 baseball team ended its season after losing 4-2 to Bayshore (Tampa).

Seminole had a chance to rally in the sixth and final inning with the bases loaded and one out, but Bayshore turned a double play to escape with the victory.

Seminole finished 1-2 in the tournament, its only win over Palm Harbor, which went 0-3. Bayshore took the sectional title.

In 9-10 softball, Pinellas Park placed second to sectional winner Keystone (Tampa). West Pasco took third after finishing the tournament 1-2, its win coming against Inverness.

In 11-12 softball, Safety Harbor went 0-3 and Seminole went 1-2, its win coming in extra innings over Safety Harbor. Tampa's Keystone-Northside won the title.