Pool 'A' Standings |
W |
L |
Runs
Allowed |
| Plant City |
2 |
1 |
14 |
| South Fort Myers |
2 |
1 |
31 |
| Bayshore |
2 |
1 |
27 |
| West Boynton Beach |
0 |
3 |
33 |
|
Pool 'B' Standings |
W |
L |
Runs
Allowed |
| Windermere American |
3 |
0 |
15 |
| Merritt Island |
2 |
1 |
22 |
| Niceville Valparaiso |
1 |
2 |
22 |
| North Springs |
0 |
3 |
37 |
The top two teams in each pool advance to the semifinal round.
Ties are broken based on records in head-to-head competition among tied teams. If a clear winner cannot be determined from head-to-head results, the tie is broken by calculating the ratio of runs allowed to defensive innings played for all teams involved in the tie. The team with the lowest runs-per-defensive-inning ratio advances.
In the event of a tie involving three or more teams, once the initial tie is broken, the remaining tied teams are again compared on head-to-head record to determine if a clear winner can be identified. If no clear winner can be identified from head-to-head results among the remaining tied teams, the runs-per-defensive-inning ratio is again used. This process is repeated until all ties have been broken.
Semifinal Round (Sunday, July 29)
Plant City 17, Merritt Island 2
Windermere American 7, South Fort Myers 3 (8 innings)
Florida State Championship Game (Monday, July 30)
Plant City 5, Windermere American 3 (TITLE)
Summary:
Plant City Little League rallied from an early deficit to claim a 5-3 victory over Windermere American Little League in the Florida state championship game at Bill Keller Park in DeBary.
Windermere had carried a 2-0 lead into the fifth inning, but Plant City struck for three runs after the second out was recorded, and added a pair of insurance runs in the sixth inning to claim the league's first state championship in the major baseball division since 1995.
With the win, Plant City advanced to the Southeastern Region tournament in Warner Robins, Georgia.
"This is awesome," said Plant City manager Tate Whatley after the championship game.
"So far it just seems like whenever we need something big to happen or just a spark, that any one of these kids step up and perform, whether on the mound, in the field, or at the plate."
Whatley's son Tate struck the key blow in Plant City's fifth inning push, lining a sharp grounder that eluded the Windermere second baseman and rolled to the fence. Two earlier walks had given Plant City runners at second and third, and both runs scored on Whatley's blow. Will Johnson, who had grounded into a double play in his most recent plate appearance, then gave Plant City the lead for good with a base hit that plated the younger Whatley.
In the sixth, Matt Byars slammed a two-run homer to extend Plant City's advantage to 5-2, and although Windermere's first two hitters reached base in the bottom of the inning, Plant City minimized the damage and escaped with just one run scored.
Doug Nikhazy's solo home run in the first inning staked Windermere to an early lead, and the District 14 champions extended their lead when Tanner Wood scored on a wild pitch in the third inning.
The tight championship game battle came on the heels of three consecutive double-digit wins for Plant City. The District 4 champions dropped their first pool contest at the state tournament by a 9-5 score to Bayshore Little League, then overwhelmed West Boynton Beach Little League, 15-2, and South Fort Myers Little League, 18-3, in a pair of mercy rule-shortened contests.
The victories lifted Plant City into a three-way tie atop the pool standings with South Fort Myers and Bayshore, and Plant City earned the top seed based on tiebreaker criteria. The eventual champions then collected their third straight victory with a 17-2 win over Merritt Island Little League in the semifinal round.
"We had outstanding pitching performances from T.J. Gayner, Cody Ginther, Austin Eldridge, and Christian Laird, not to mention some very sharp defensive plays made by Zach Ford, Will Johnson, Emilio Rivera, and Matt Byers," said the elder Tate Whatley.
Windermere had scored twelve or more runs in each of its pool contests while sweeping to three consecutive victories. Windermere topped Merritt Island, 13-3, in their opener, then outlasted North Springs Little League, 13-10, before closing out pool competition with a 12-2 victory over District 1 winner Niceville Valparaiso Little League.
In the semifinal round, Windermere and South Fort Myers battled into the eighth inning, when Nikhazy launched a walkoff grand slam home run beyond the center field fence that gave his team a 7-3 victory.
Plant City, which also saw its eleven-year-old all-star team win both the Florida state tournament and the Southeastern Region tournament of state champions in 2012, won its opening game at the Southeastern Region tournament, but lost early leads in subsequent pool contests against Warner Robins American West (Georgia) Little League and Greenville Tar Heel (North Carolina) Little League. The Florida champions finished in third place in their pool with a 1-2 record.
Follow Plant City at the Southeastern Region Tournament -- Click here to view results.
Linescores:
| Championship Game |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
R |
H |
E |
| Plant City |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
|
5 |
- |
- |
| Windermere American |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
3 |
- |
- |
|
|
2012 Florida District Champions and Sectional Tournament Results:
| District Champions in Section 1 |
District Champions in Section 2 |
D1 - Niceville Valparaiso
D20 - Northwest Leon (Tallahassee)
Section 1 Tournament
Host - Shalimar (District 1)
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Niceville Valparaiso 14, Northwest Leon 2 (5 innings)
2 - Niceville Valparaiso 10, Northwest Leon 0 (4 innings; TITLE)
|
D2 - Viera/Suntree (Melbourne)
D7 - West Boynton Beach
D17 - Martin County North (Stuart/Palm City)
Section 2 Tournament
Host - Viera/Suntree (Melbourne) (District 2)
At Viera Regional Park
The Section 2 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Viera/Suntree 9, Martin County North 8 (7 innings)
2 - West Boynton Beach 10, Martin County North 9 (7 innings)
3 - West Boynton Beach d. Viera/Suntree
Standings |
W |
L |
| West Boynton Beach |
2 |
0 |
| Viera/Suntree |
1 |
1 |
| Martin County North |
0 |
2 |
Viera/Suntree advances to the state tournament as the round robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 3 |
District Champions in Section 4 |
D11 - Fleming Island
D19 - Deltona
D22 - Merritt Island
Section 3 Tournament
Host - DeBary (District 19)
The Section 3 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Merritt Island 6, Fleming Island 2
2 - Deltona 5, Fleming Island 0
3 - Merritt Island 4, Deltona 3
Standings |
W |
L |
| Merritt Island |
2 |
0 |
| Deltona |
1 |
1 |
| Fleming Island |
0 |
2 |
Merritt Island advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
D4 - Plant City
D13 - South Brandon
D25 - Land O'Lakes
D26 - Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton)
Section 4 Tournament
Host - Land O'Lakes (District 25)
The Section 4 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - Land O'Lakes 10, South Brandon 1
2 - Plant City 6, Lakewood Ranch 2
3 - Plant City 5, South Brandon 3
4 - Land O'Lakes 13, Lakewood Ranch 3
5 - Lakewood Ranch 12, South Brandon 0
6 - Plant City 18, Land O'Lakes 9
Standings |
W |
L |
| Plant City |
3 |
0 |
| Land O'Lakes |
2 |
1 |
| Lakewood Ranch |
1 |
2 |
| South Brandon |
0 |
3 |
Plant City advances to the state tournament as the round-robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 5 |
District Champions in Section 6 |
D3 - Kissimmee American
D14 - Windermere American
D23 - Oviedo Black
D24 - East Orange American
Section 5 Tournament
Host - Apopka (District 23)
The Section 5 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - Oviedo Black versus East Orange American (7/20)
2 - Windermere American 7, Kissimmee American 6
3 - Windermere American d. Oviedo Black
4 - Kissimmee American d. East Orange American
5 - Kissimmee American versus Oviedo Black (7/22)
6 - East Orange American 5, Windermere American 4
Standings |
W |
L |
| Windermere American |
2 |
1 |
| Kissimmee American |
1 |
1 |
| East Orange American |
1 |
1 |
| Oviedo Black |
0 |
1 |
We have not received further reports of individual game results from this tournament. Windermere American wins the Section 5 tournament and advances to the state tournament. |
D9 - South Fort Myers
D16 - North Port Area
D18 - Lehigh Acres
D27 - Greater Naples
Section 6 Tournament
Host - Fort Myers American (District 9)
At Sam Fleishman Regional Park
Tournament Schedule/Results:
The Section 6 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - South Fort Myers 9, Lehigh Acres 1
2 - North Port Area 9, Greater Naples 4
3 - South Fort Myers 7, Greater Naples 0
4 - North Port Area 5, Lehigh Acres 2
5 - Greater Naples 9, Lehigh Acres 2
6 - South Fort Myers 14, North Port Area 1 (5 innings)
Standings |
W |
L |
| South Fort Myers |
3 |
0 |
| North Port Area |
2 |
1 |
| Greater Naples |
1 |
2 |
| Lehigh Acres |
0 |
3 |
South Fort Myers advances to the state tournament as the round robin champion. |
| District Champions in Section 7 |
District Champions in Section 8 |
D5 - Northeast (St. Petersburg)
D6 - Bayshore (Tampa)
D12 - West Pasco (New Port Richey)
D15 - Crystal River
Section 7 Tournament
Host - Northeast (St. Petersburg) (District 5)
The Section 7 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Results:
1 - West Pasco 12, Crystal River 1 (5 innings)
2 - Bayshore 18, Northeast 0 (4 innings)
3 - Bayshore 8, Crystal River 2
4 - West Pasco 10, Northeast 0 (4 innings)
5 - Northeast 6, Crystal River 1
6 - Bayshore 2, West Pasco 1
Standings |
W |
L |
| Bayshore |
3 |
0 |
| West Pasco |
2 |
1 |
| Northeast |
1 |
2 |
| Crystal River |
0 |
3 |
Bayshore advances to the state tournament as the round robin champion. |
D8 - Doral
D10 - North Springs (Coral Springs)
D21 - Weston Area Blue
Section 8 Tournament
Host - Coconut Creek (District 10)
The Section 8 tournament is using a round-robin format.
Tournament Schedule/Results:
1 - North Springs 12, Weston Area Blue 2
2 - Weston Area Blue 13, Doral 7
3 - Doral 6, North Springs 3
Standings |
W |
L |
| North Springs |
1 |
1 |
| Weston Area Blue |
1 |
1 |
| Doral |
1 |
1 |
North Springs wins the Section 8 tournament based on the Runs Per Defensive Inning tiebreaker and advances to the state tournament. |
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Last revision: 06/08/2013
