Mike LaGrange's Pitches Packers Past Tornadoes

 ST. PETERSBURG  On a day when Mike LaGrange didn't have any location with his curveball, he pitched like a major leaguer.

The Largo High School southpaw was masterful in a 3-1 come-from-behind win to defeat Clearwater Tuesday at the Northeast High School baseball tournament in St. Petersburg.

LaGrange fanned just five batters but it was how he pitched to those batters which made the difference for the Packers.

"My curveball wasn't working to well today," LaGrange said.

He was being a bit misleading. LaGrange's curveball was working just fine. It was his control of his curveball that wasn't working. So in almost desperation, LaGrange decided to live and die by his fastball.

He lived.

LaGrange used two different pitching motions despite only using one pitch. It worked well.

"When I wanted to throw for strikes I threw over the top," LaGrange said. "When there were two strikes and I wanted to give the batter a different look, I dropped down to a three-quarters of a sidearm. I know for a fact that threw them off. That pitch had a little tail at the end and was about two mph faster."

It was crafty work for LaGrange which impressed his teammates and his coach Larry Ducey.

"He was getting ground balls," Ducey said, which is what his goal is for LaGrange, allowing the Packers defense to make the plays. "He pitched a good solid game."

Matt Piatt, a Largo outfielder, said  "He [LaGrange] made me happy. He [LaGrange] kept with his fastball and hit his spots. Boy, it made me happy."

Piatt made the Packers happy when he belted a pitch to the opposite field in the bottom of the sixth with the bases loaded to put Largo up 2-1.

"Just get up there and get a hit," Piatt said of his game-winning drive. "I was relaxed."