The Florida Gators, seeded No. 3 in the tournament, advanced to the field of eight for the sixth time in program history and first time since 2005. They defeated the Miami Hurricanes 4-3 in 10 Innings on Saturday night in front of a large crowd of 5,783 at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville.

The Hurricanes committed seven errors in the game, including one in the top of the 10th by right fielder Chris Pelaez, who misplayed a fly ball hit by freshman shortstop Nolan Fontana, out of West Orange High School. Fontana would end up scoring the game-winning run on a RBI double by Austin Maddox.

Lake Brantley High School alum Greg Larson entered the game in the bottom of the 10th with one on base and one out. The sophomore proceeded to catch freshman Michael Broad looking on strikes and then force sophomore Rony Rodriguez to ground out to Fontana at shortstop, who fired a bullet across the diamond to Preston Tucker at first base for the final out. Larson collected his third save and was greeted by teammates as the celebration began.

The Hurricanes made nine errors in their two games of Super Regional play, which as a result denied local kids such as freshman Steve Ewing out of University High School and Ethan Bornstein from Winter Park High School a chance to make it to Omaha. The Gators opened Super Regionals with a 7-2 win on Friday night.

Fontana and Larson join sophomore Ben McMahan and senior Clint Franklin as players from the Central Florida area with spots on the Florida roster. McMahon played his high school ball at Bishop Moore while Franklin played at Timber Creek.

Joining the Gators at the World Series are the Florida State Seminoles, who are making the trip for the 20th time in program history and 14th time under head coach Mike Martin. The Seminoles defeated Vanderbilt 7-6 in the decisive Game 3 of the team’s Super Regional matchup at Dick Howser Stadium in Tallahassee.

FSU, like the Gators, have four players from the Orlando area on its roster including senior outfielder Ohmed Danesh out of Dr. Phillips High School. Junior infielder Stuart Tapley and freshman Corben Madden both played baseball at Boone High School. Junior pitcher John Gast hails from Lake Brantley, where he was a teammate with Florida’s Larson from 2005-07.

For Gast, Tapley, and Danesh, this marks their second trip to Omaha in three years as FSU advanced in 2008, going 0-2 after losing to Stanford and Miami. The Seminoles open play this time around against TCU while Florida takes on No. 6 UCLA. The two state rivals could meet up early on as both are in the same bracket.

– More Local Players In College World Series –

Senior second baseman Mike Freeman out of Edgewater High School and sophomore shortstop Brad Miller from Olympia High School helped Clemson advance to the World Series. The Tigers take on No. 1 Arizona State to start the week’s final round of elimination play. Junior utility player Robert Beary out of Apopka started in 22 games for South Carolina, playing in 41 games on the year. The Gamecocks get underway against Oklahoma.

In the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, local baseball players began to be selected by big league clubs. Below is a look at who they were, where they were picked, and what team made the call.

– 2010 MLB Draft Top-10 Local Picks –

– LHP Justin Nicolino (University) selected No. 80 overall by Toronto in 2nd round. WESH Video

– RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo) selected No. 116 overall by Washington in 4th round.

– CF Mason Williams (West Orange) selected No. 145 overall by NY Yankees in 4th round.

– LHP Alex Burgos (Osceola/State College of Florida) selected No. 163 overall by Detroit in 5th round.

– LHP John Gast (Lake Brantley/Florida State) selected No. 199 overall by St. Louis in 6th round.

– RF Jose Dore (The First Academy) selected No. 244 overall by San Diego in 8th round.

– SS Mike Freeman (Edgewater/Clemson) selected No. 331 overall by Arizona in 11th round.

– RHP Cody Allen (Boone/UCF/St. Petersburg JC) selected No. 480 overall by Cleveland in 16th round.

– RHP Owen Dew (UCF) selected No. 630 overall by Cleveland in 21st round.

– C Shane Brown (Winter Park/UCF) selected No. 715 overall by NY Yankees in 23rd round.

– More Local MLB Draft Picks –

LF Chris Duffy (Cypress Creek/UCF) at No. 801 overall to Philadelphia (26th round); CF Jay Gonzalez (Freedom) No. 833 overall to Boston (27th round); RHP Tim Griffin (Rollins College) No. 852 overall to Seattle (28th round); LHP Ronald Schreurs (Freedom) No. 1,296 overall to Toronto (43rd round); LHP Jimmy Hodgskin (Bishop Moore) No. 1,311 overall to Philadelphia (43rd round); OF Tyler Marincov (Timber Creek) No. 1,453 overall to Detroit (48th round).

– Draft Notes –

– The UCF Knights have had nine different players selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years, including Brown, who has now been drafted twice by the Yankees. Last season he was picked in the 47th round. In all, UCF has had its baseball players drafted by MLB organizations 73 times since 1979. Dew was taken in the 33rd round in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels. Duffy, who was selected in the 9th round out of high school, completed his four-year career as a finalist for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as one of the top amateur players in the nation.

– The Florida Collegiate Summer League had the highest number of current or former baseball players drafted over the three-day MLB selection process as 25 FCSL players were taken, including five in the first eight rounds. A complete list of draftees is available at Florida League.

The Patriots earned a third-straight trip to the state semifinals with an 18-10 win in a second round play-in game at Lake Highland Prep on Friday.

Chelsea Pinneke scored two goals inside the opening five minutes to give the Patriots an early lead and the Highlanders were unable to recover.

Caroline Lamere, last season’s area player of the year, led the attack with four goals and four assists while Katie Trahanas added four goals and an assist. Pinneke and Jackie Schaefer finished with three goals each in the win.

Twice Lake Brantley held 10-point leads in the second half after building an 8-2 advantage at the break, but second-year coach Hanna Hopkins sees more work to be done moving forward in regards to the team’s draw controls and ground balls.

“Not our best game. But it’s a win, so we’ll take it,” said Hopkins, who played on the 2001 Patriots’ state title team before going on to play for the Florida Gators in Gainesville.

Former high school teammates of Hopkins, Casey Foote and Aubrey White, join former Gator goalie Jen Dunham on the coaching staff.

Lake Brantley (15-3) finished runners-up in the state a year ago. They’ll now meet up with Park Vista on Friday at West Orange High School for the chance to return to the title game. Winter Springs plays Vero Beach in the other semifinal.

The state championship game is scheduled for Saturday, April 24 at 5 p.m. at West Orange.

“We’ve been working since the state championship ended last year to have another chance at next weekend,” said Hopkins. “And we have the team to do it. It’s just a matter of getting it done.”

Trahanas leads the team with 66 goals on the year while midfielders Pinneke and Kaleigh Henry are considered two of the biggest threats on either ends of the field. Senior goalie Heather Gable has benefited from the protection of defenders Christina Monahan and Amira El-Behiri.

Lake Highland Prep (11-6) entered the contest having pulled out close wins over Timber Creek and Bishop Moore to keep its season alive by way of a vastly improved defensive unit.

But they played with their back against the wall for much of the night on Friday as they were overwhelmed early on by swift passes and quick strikes by the Patriots.

Before the game, second-year head coach Amy Demers said the team was well aware of whom they were in comparison to the ever-consistent Patriots, and that after the initial goal of winning a district title (following a two-year drought) was reached, that “everything else is sort of icing on the cake.”

Tyler Thomas led the Highlanders with three goals in the final game of the season. Polly Peck and Elyese Johnson each scored twice. Other players coming up big for LHP this year were Kellie Mitchell and Lauren Gierke.

In both games, the winning teams controlled the tempo for most of the way even as Winter Springs needed a little extra time to settle things in overtime.

“Our girls stepped up and played as hard as they could to get [that last goal] when they needed to,” said head coach Kurt Oettl.

Oviedo, on the other hand, is right back where it was a year ago and hope to make the most of the position they’re in once again.

“A district tournament can help set you up for later and get you on a roll,” said Oviedo coach Scott Waisanen.

– No. 2 Winter Springs (14-5-3) over No. 3 Lake Mary (10-6-2)

In a matchup featuring two of Seminole County’s best goalkeepers – Shelby Savolainen of Winter Springs and Megan Lynch of Lake Mary – the real story was how the Bears nearly squandered away the game before coming out on top 2-1 in overtime.

Winter Springs controlled possession of the ball for much of the night, to the point where Lake Mary was unable to get as much as a shot on goal until nearly 10 minutes had passed in the second half.

The Bears were aggressive on the offensive end of the field as senior forwards Vanessa Aponte and Shelby Guenthardt, and junior midfielder Taylor Hoch forced Lynch into a busy night in the net.

Aponte scored the games first goal, her 26th of the season, when she drilled a free kick from just outside the box that landed into the lower left corner of the net a little more than eight minutes into the game.

The 1-0 lead held up most of the way, until Lake Mary junior defender Rachel Buffalo bounced a soft header past a defender as Savolainen was caught out of position to tie the game with less than nine minutes to play. It was just the fourth legitimate opportunity the Rams could muster on goal.

The overtime period didn’t last long, though. Aponte had two shots on goal saved by Lynch, the last of which was a spectacular diving effort that set up the game-winning corner kick. Once the kick sailed to the far post it bounced back toward the front of the goal off of the foot of a Winter Springs player and was promptly tapped in by junior midfielder Meredith Ciocca to end the game.

Lynch finished with nine saves in the loss but saw plenty more shots sail off the mark from the likes of senior midfielders Samantha Murphy and Michelle Samper.

– No. 1 Oviedo (17-4-1) over No. 5 Lake Brantley (8-9-3)

Oviedo has carried the torch as Central Florida’s top girls soccer team for much of the season, routinely bringing the best out of their opponents after advancing to the state semifinals a year ago.

It took some time to settle down on Wednesday during a 3-0 win over the Patriots, but the slow start did nothing to take away from a dominant effort.

Led by the aggressive play of junior midfielders Katie O’Kennedy and Morgan Campbell, the Lions continued to apply the pressure until Lake Brantley eventually broke down the stretch.

Despite missing its mark on a barrage of shots, Oviedo took an early 1-0 lead when a throw-in from April Asby slipped through the hands of keeper Lilian Valle for the first score of the night.

In typical fashion, the Lions moved the ball through a multitude of positions and had no less than 10 different players take a shot in the direction of Lake Mary’s goal.

Late in the game, Erin Phillips punched in a goal on a deflected save following a long attempt from a teammate and O’Kennedy added another goal less than three minutes later.

– More Local Girls Soccer Coverage –

Game recap at Orlando Sentinel

Game photos by Stephen M. Dowell

There was plenty of suspense to go around, all the way up until the very last play of the game. Somehow Winter Park had gone from leading big to trailing late. Very late. Yet they found a way to advance in the Class 6A state football playoffs with a narrow 50-47 win over the Patriots.

– Quite the reversal of fortunes

In the school’s first meeting since 1992, the Wildcats dominated the scoreboard all night but suddenly found themselves down by three points with 1:15 to go in the game after a furious 28-point outburst by Lake Brantley in the fourth quarter.

But in the end, the 21 points Winter Park posted that same period would be enough to hang on.

Winter Park quarterback Sam Richardson (Photo by Chris Schubert)

The winning team relied on a big return by Zee Ware on their final kickoff, and a penalty on the Patriots that followed, to get set up at 31 yards from the end zone. Senior Jared Thompson then hauled in a big catch. And quarterback Sam Richardson scrambles to get the Wildcats closer. Finally, one handoff and a quick juke move by Patrick Mputu allowed for the six-yard gain to help Winter Park retaken the lead with 39 seconds left in the game.

It was evident that desperation time wasn’t over yet for a Lake Brantley team that thought it had already capped off an unthinkable comeback. But now they had to do it again, this time from 80 yards. And that final drive had all the makings of yet another miracle. There was a big catch near midfield that kept fans believing, but then uncertainty from that point on. A sack by Winter Park junior James Washington made it all the more difficult. One play left. But the 44-yard bomb into the end zone hit the ground and sent the Wildcats in celebration.

Mputu’s winning touchdown was his third in the final quarter as he averaged 7.7 yards per carry on the night and finished with 199 yards on 26 carries.

– How did it get to this?

With 5:56 to go in the final quarter it seemed everybody but the Patriots thought the game was out of reach as Winter Park held a commanding 43-26 lead off three Lake Brantley turnovers they converted into touchdowns.

In the final push of the postseason, Lake Brantley got big runs from Ti’an Green and Tyler Krider, big catches from Eric Gibbs and Xavier Youngblood, and steady leadership from quarterback Bryce Bergeron. Not to mention a better effort from a defense that finally buckled down to keep the Patriots alive.

Gibbs caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 3:48 left to cut into the Winter Park deficit, 43-33. A bad snap on the punt for the Wildcats followed to then set up the Patriots with another scoring chance at the 2:32 mark. They made that pay off as Krider scored from 2-yards out with 1:32 still to go to climb within three points.

But Lake Brantley needed an onside kick. And they got it. The very next play Bergeron threw a 44-yard beauty to Youngblood that got the Patriots down to the 2-yard line, where Bergeron eventually got in for the score to finally put the visiting team up for the first time, 47-43.

Not that it mattered though as the first three quarters came back to haunt them when it was all said and done.

– How it all got started

Winter Park opened the game by scoring two touchdowns off two Lake Brantley turnovers before the Patriots were even able to answer the bell with a score of their own.

Junior Lee Dunnam made a phenomenal catch in the end zone from Richardson on a slant route in the first quarter and Ware hauled in a 15-yard strike from Richardson as he rolled out to his right with 5:31 to go in the second quarter.

Krider then scored the first of his four touchdowns for Lake Brantley in the game with 2:35 to go in the first half on a 1-yard run up the middle. Richardson replied though by leading a Wildcat charge that extended the Winter Park lead to 21-7 at intermission once he sped his way into the left corner of the end zone on a 15-yard run on the final play of the half.

Setting up that final score were big catches by Thompson, Terrell Foy and Clark Galloway, and a big run by Mputu, who ran 10 times for 65 yards in the first half.

The teams then traded the next six touchdowns back and forth before the Patriots were finally able to secure the momentum, albeit as short lived as it was, in the fourth quarter.

A huge kick return by Lake Brantley to open the second half set up a 9-yard touchdown run by Krider with 11:35 remaining in the third, but the point-after attempt failed. After trading punts, Richardson threw a 32-yard scoring strike to Thompson with 4:27 to go in the period with senior Jeff Hoblick running in the 2-point conversion on what appeared to be a fake-field goal attempt. On the very next possession Krider again reached pay dirt from three yards out but the two-point conversion was snuffed out by sophomore Dvario Montgomery with 1:27 to spare in the third.

Winter Park held onto a 29-19 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Mputu then hit a hole and reached the end zone on a 5-yard run at 10:09 to go. Bergeron replied for Lake Brantley with a 4-yard touchdown run as 7:43 remained. It was Mputu who again scored, this time from the 2-yard line following an interception by Ware, to help secure the Winter Park lead with 5:56 left before the Patriots fought back and took the lead for the first time on the night.

Contributing big plays for the Wildcats were senior Corey Gonsalves with a tackle for loss, junior Austin Shelton with a forced fumble on a big hit at the line of scrimmage in the second quarter, and senior Dwayne Pearce with a pass break up in the third quarter.

– Where to from here?

Winter Park (10-1) moves on to host Seminole (9-2), the Class 6A defending state champions this Friday after the Seminoles came from behind to top Timber Creek 30-27 in double overtime.

The winner of that game will join whoever is left standing between Dr. Phillips (11-0) and Apopka (10-1) as the only big schools from the area still in the hunt for a title. Apopka routed Boone 49-0 last week while Dr. Phillips pulled out a win over Olympia, and the area’s leading passer in Trevor Siemian, 23-22 without the services of their leading rusher Demetrius Hart.

–– More Winter Park vs. Lake Brantley ––

– More video footage at WFTV

DiMarco (6-0, 243), a junior fullback with the Gamecocks, caught what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown in the third quarter while Jeanpierre (6-4, 294), a redshirt senior who was expected to battle for a spot at offensive guard, started at center for South Carolina.

The 2-yard score by DiMarco with 6:57 to go in the third quarter came on a pass in the flats as South Carolina led 9-3. He got into the end zone by diving overtop the attempted tackle of a defender for what was the first passing touchdown against Ole Miss this season. DiMarco also caught a pass over the middle for six yards in the first quarter to get his team into the red zone. After making the catch at the line of scrimmage the extra yardage was set up by a big downfield block by Jeanpierre. But the Gamecocks would eventually turn the ball over. Late in the second quarter DiMarco caught a pass in the flats for 15 yards that again set South Carolina up in the red zone. This time they settled for a field goal before halftime. To round out the night, DiMarco had one carry for one yard, gave up a sack after trying to make a block, and had a pass thrown in his direction for an incompletion while being covered by Ole Miss defenders.

Jeanpierre also allowed a sack in the first quarter after having his helmet ripped off by a Rebel defender. He was also called for holding inside the final minute of the second quarter with South Carolina two yards away from scoring.

More on DiMarco –

Patrick DiMarco

Coached by George Clayton while playing high school football in Altamonte Springs, DiMarco lined up as a blocking fullback and defensive end as a Patriot. As a senior he was in on 125 tackles (29 for loss) and 17 sacks while scoring eight touchdowns for a squad that went 14-2 and finished as state runners-up in Class 6A. The first-team all-state selection was considered a two-star prospect by both Rivals.com and Scout.com. As a returning starter and one of four team captains in 2009 for South Carolina he is considered a “tough, smart player” who is an excellent blocker and great leader.

As a freshman, DiMarco was mostly a special teams contributor through 12 games though he did catch four passes for 32 out of the backfield. His first career touchdown in college came on a seven-yard reception from Chris Smelley in a win over Kentucky. Last year as a sophomore he made five starts and played in 13 games, carrying the ball one time for three yards against Vanderbilt and catching five passes for 45 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown catch against Clemson. For his efforts in that rivalry game he was given the Ernest A. Brooks Memorial Award (MVP of Carolina/Clemson game).

More on Jeanpierre –

Lem Jeanpierre

Coached by Jimmy Buckridge in high school, he earned Class 6A first-team all-state honors and was regarded as the 44th-best defensive tackle in the country by Rivals.com. He has since lined up on the offensive side of the ball at South Carolina for a unit that’s finished last in rushing the past two seasons in the SEC. He now looks to be back at full strength after a right knee injury sidelined him for the stretch run of the 2008 campaign. He’s entered the year with 11 career starts to his credit.

Jeanpierre began his career at South Carolina on the defensive line where in 2006 he played in 13 games, including his lone start in the Liberty Bowl against Houston. In that game he had five tackles and a forced fumble in the win. For the year he finished with 17 tackles (11 solo). Six of those, including two sacks, came in the backfield. Before moving over onto the offensive line the following season he combined for 2.5 sacks against Florida Atlantic, Auburn and Tennessee. In 2007 he would go on to make five starts at the right guard position, then start five games at guard in 2008 before being injured.