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Mustangs Win Titles At Disney

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By NICHOLAS MURRAY The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2007

The Tampa Mustangs softball program won three titles at the Disney Atlantic Citrus Classic held at the Wide World of Sports Complex last weekend.

Winning the tournament gives all three teams a berth in next year's Amateur Softball Association Hall of Fame Tournament in Oklahoma City in June.

The under-18 squad won a three-team tournament, defeating Team Demarini from Merritt Island 6-2 in pool play and 3-1 in the championship game. For Coach Walt Rozanski, the tournament was a good one for a team that is learning to play together. Pitcher Kim Mazzapica from East Lake started the title game for the Mustangs, going five innings while recording 10 strikeouts while allowing no walks before Lindsay Richardson closed the game out with five strikeouts in two innings. After Team Demarini took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first, Gina Kafalas led off with a bunt single before Ashley McClain drove a double to right field to tie the game as Kafalas scored.
McClain gave the Mustangs the lead for good when she came home on Becky Vyzas' double to right. The Mustangs added an insurance run on Kafalas' second run of the game, with McClain again providing the key hit to bring her home.

'They did really well,' Rozanski said. 'It was a great weekend for us. It's a new team for us, we merged our Wildcat and Mustang teams. We are just looking to play the best teams we can play, and the ASA gives us that.'

Rozanski is happy his team gets to go to the Hall of Fame Tournament in part because the event is held in conjunction with the Softball College World Series, and gives players from all three of the Mustangs teams a chance to be seen by top college coaches. It also gives the team a chance to qualify for the ASA National championships later in the year.

The under-16 team beat a Sarasota Heat squad it had lost to in pool play 1-0 in eight innings to advance through to the championship, where the Mustangs beat the Elizabeth Renegades from Pennsylvania 8-0.

'The girls did fantastic this weekend, we had an outstanding tournament,' Coach Jeff Almand said. 'We scored 41 runs and only gave up 3, so I think that says a lot about the way the team played.'

Mackenzie Audas pitched a complete game for the Mustangs against Sarasota in the elimination round and was named the tournament MVP by her teammates. Casey Murray scored the only run of the game in the top of the eighth inning on a suicide squeeze by Regan Knapik.

The under-14 team beat the Central Florida Stingrays 9-2 in the championship after it moved through pool play undefeated.

Milan Wins Florida Junior Title In Playoff

Alexandra Milan of Lutz won her first Florida Junior Golf Tour event at The Links at Madison Beach in Royal Palm Beach, shooting a birdie on the par-5 11th to beat Cindy Feng of Orlando to win the under-15 division title on Sunday.

Milan, who attends Sickles High, came back from a five-shot deficit after the opening round to shoot a 71 on the second day. After she and Feng matched each other with par 4s on the 10th hole, Milan drove over the fairway bunker on the 11th before striking a 3-wood to the edge of the green. A solid chip gave her a simple tap-in from inside two feet to give her the title.

'This was my first playoff so I was a little nervous,' Milan said. 'I just wanted to play one shot at a time.'

Olivia Lugar of Rockledge led after a first round of 72, but fell back to finish in a tie for fourth. Milan thought the key to her strong second round was her putting.

'I was striking the ball well and my putter was solid all week,' Milan said. 'It's great to see all my hard work pay off.'

Ryan Ashburn of Seminole finished in a tie for fourth with a two-round total of 152, four shots behind Milan.

Newsome Blue Squad Remains Undefeated

Johnny Maiello scored two goals, including the game-winner, as Newsome Blue remained undefeated with a 4-2 win against Wesley Chapel in the Hillsborough High School Hockey League.

The Wolves (4-0) took a 2-1 first-period lead on goals by Brendan Rhoney and Jared Chinn, but the Wildcats (2-2) tied the game in the second on league leading scorer T.J. Johnson's 11th goal of the season. Maiello broke the tie in the third period, however, before adding an empty-net goal to seal the win.

The Tigers continued their recent run of form with a 4-1 win against Newsome White. The Tigers (3-1) were led by Charlie Kutt, who scored his first two goals of the season, while Ian Stanley and Danny Lippleman also scored. Chris Bonser scored the only goal for Newsome White (2-2).

Derek Garrish scored two goals as Freedom took a 6-1 win against George Jenkins.

Wharton moved back to .500 after a slow start to the season with a 4-2 win against Plant. The Wildcats (2-2) got goals from Brendan Hatch, Ryan Wooley, Jason Kirincich and Matt Cazes to move them back into the middle of the standings. The Panthers (0-4) got goals from Matt Winningham and Mikal Amias.

Bloomingdale beat Riverview/Durant 5-3 as Mike Wood scored four goals for the Bulls (2-2). Connor McHale opened the scoring for the Bulls before Wood took over, handing Riverview/Durant (1-2-1) its second regulation loss of the season. Joey Heyer, Jason Mayne and Phillip Sellick scored for the combined team.

Nicholas Murray can be reached at nmurray@tampatrib.com or at (813) 259-7717. For more youth sports news and notes, keyword: youth sports.

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