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Youth baseball: South Fort Myers 10-11s win Section 6 title
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Now this was more like it.
After grinding out three runs Friday in their first game of the Section 6 tournament, the South Fort Myers 10- and 11-year-old all-stars had a much easier day at the plate Saturday. The team racked up 24 runs in two games, winning a doubleheader to finish the tourney undefeated and sectional champion.
South beat Sarasota Florida 7-3 in its morning game and followed with a 17-4 pounding of Lehigh in four innings. By winning all three of its games in the round-robin tournament, South moves on to the 10-11 state finals starting Friday in Coral Springs.
"The bats came alive,'' South manager Brian Smith said. "It takes all 12 kids to win tournaments like this, and I got contributions from every single one of them.''
South's 24 runs came in a seven-inning span Saturday after struggling to start the day. Sarasota took a 3-0 lead into the fourth inning before two inside-the-park home runs put South on the board and in control.
Against Lehigh, South opened with a seven-run first inning that all but sealed its sectional title. Lehigh provided some drama, closing to within 7-4 in the third inning. A nine-run fourth by South, however, put the game out of reach.
Eleven of South's 12 players were on the league's 9-10 all-star team last season that won a sectional championship. Coaches and players hope that experience helps come Friday's state finals.
"It kind of gives us confidence because we know we've made it there before,'' South player Keith Smith, 11, said. "At the same time, we don't know who's going, so we don't know what kind of teams are there.''
South's 10-11s are unbeaten this postseason. They've won 10 straight after going 7-0 in district play.
Greater Naples recovered from a loss to South in Friday's game to convincingly win its two games Saturday. The all-stars beat Lehigh 7-1 and Sarasota 12-3.
Sarasota tied the score at 3-3 against Greater Naples in the top of the fifth. In the bottom of the inning, however, Greater Naples knocked home nine runs in its final at-bat of the sectional tournament.
"We sucked it up,'' Greater Naples manager Jimmy Nocera said. "We finally swung the bats very well today. I think pride kicked in and they finished strong.''
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