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Palm Harbor baseball overcomes midseason stumble

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By Eric Horchy | The Suncoast News

Published: April 25, 2009

PALM HARBOR - The Palm Harbor University baseball team is at it again.

For the second consecutive year the Hurricanes are rolling through the home stretch of their regular season schedule as districts near.

While last season's run was largely viewed as a surprise - winning five of six before becoming district runners up to eventual state champion Dunedin - Palm Harbor's current play catches few off guard. The Hurricanes have won four out of six as of Wednesday.

That was the type of ball expected from a team led by nine seniors. This year's surprise, though, came prior.

After blazing to a 6-2 start, the Hurricanes became mired in a midseason funk they could not escape from, losing six of seven.

Newly appointed head coach Jim Felce took over control of the team on the back end of its plummet and described what he saw.

"The team didn't look healthy to me. They looked gray. Unenthusiastic," he said. "And I told them that."

"I told them that we're going to come back to looking healthy again. We're going to work hard during practice and we're going to build a foundation again because they've got too much talent. This team is loaded with talent, but they didn't believe it."

Whatever the approach was, the belief is back - along with the W's.

The "gray" that once loomed amid the team has dispersed and the Hurricanes' true colors have emerged again, Felce said.

His players feel it, too.

"We were expected to do a lot of things this year and we hit the middle of the year and just slumped," senior first baseman Anthony Varner said. "It kind of got to our heads, but all of a sudden we just started playing baseball again and having fun with it. We're enjoying the game now."

It didn't take long for the refocused mindset to produce dividends in the form of on-field production, especially at the plate. The Hurricanes have lit up scoreboards with double-digit run totals in four of their last six games. They only did that twice previously.

"Our bats were streaky when we went through that funk, and now we're getting hot again," said senior centerfielder Anthony Diaz. "We're going to keep that going right through districts."

"When guys like Diaz and Varner start to roll, this team can turn into a monster," Felce said. "Everyone just gets sucked in behind them."

Palm Harbor has weapons in its order from top to bottom. Sophomores Danny Murray and Zac Johnson are hitting well above .400. Senior Kyle Westwood, also the staff ace on the mound, swings with power. Second baseman Zach Sobel helps set the table in the 2-hole and junior Max Cameron has nearly 20 RBI's.

Along with Westwood (3-1), Palm Harbor hurlers like Matt Allison, Joe Dhani and Andrew Goot have solidified the pitching staff to lock down wins after the offense grabs leads.

"We've had some great outings from our pitching staff as of late, that's another contributing factor, and our defense has been solid throughout the year," Diaz said, noting that the Hurricanes' glove work has remained consistent from the start.

Palm Harbor now looks to keep all three aspects of its game in top form as the Class 5A, District 9, No. 3 seed heads into this week's tournament, hosted by Dunedin.

"We know we have the tools out here with these guys," Diaz said. "We know we have the talent. We know we have the work ethic. We know we have the mentality. And we knew that we would come back and get back to the top of the mountain."

Such senior presence exuded by Diaz, Varner and others is essential to the Hurricanes continued revival this season, Felce said.

"Without their leadership and their fire, forget about it. We wouldn't be on this same roll that we're having."

Eric Horchy can be reached at 727-815-1071 or ehorchy@suncoastnews.com.

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