Ho, Hum: Another 10-Run Rule Win for Hurricanes

Manatee High already had pecked Tampa Gaither with a series of bloop hits in the second inning.

Erik Lindberg, on the other hand, made a direct blow. After four foul balls, he choked up on the bat an inch, scooted forward in the batter's box about a foot, and cracked the ball at least 400 feet over the fence at .

The three-run shot ended Manatee's nine-run inning, and the Hurricanes won 13-3, enacting a 10-run rule in the sixth inning of the Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal.

The game was postponed from Friday night after rain drenched the field at G.T. Bray.

Manatee will play in the Class 5A-Region 3 final Friday against Largo Pinellas Park at Pinellas County Park in St. Petersburg.

Manatee coach coach Dwayne Strong said the Hurricanes have not reached a regional final since 1998.

Since districts began, Manatee (21-8) has won three of its four playoff games via the 10-run rule.

“We just have to keep on doing what we're doing,” Strong said. “We're getting great pitching, and if the way we're swinging the bats continues, it will just be mano a mano."

Gathier (16-9) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a solo home run by Jose Gonzalez.

Manatee starter Scott Kelly pitched a complete game, allowing four hits.

But Cowboys starter Alex Milne lasted just 1 2/3 innings.

“The ball just kept dropping in front of us,” Gaither coach Frank Permuy said. “We scouted this team and we had our guys positioned right. The wind was blowing out so we had to respect their power a bit. But three or four feet either way was the difference in the ballgame.”

Of course, Lindberg's home run was also the difference.

More accurately, his decision to lose an ounce of bat weight by choking up and stepping forward in the box was one of the differences.

“I knew I was slow swinging the bat,” Lindberg said. “So I figured to go with couple less ounces of bat. And it worked out I guess.”

Gaither  011  010 — 3  4  2
Manatee 090 031 — 13 12 0

W – Kelly. L – Milne. 2B – Collier (G), Pastrana (G). HR – Gonzalez (G). Lindberg (M). Records — G 16-8, M 21-8.