The Hernando High Leopards baseball team secured a spot in the regional finals with a 10-1 victory over The Villages Charter School on Sunday at Emerson Field in Brooksville. The win advanced the third-seeded Leopards to the Elite Eight for the third consecutive year, where they will face fourth-seeded South Sumter in a best-of-three series.
The stage for the series-clinching win was set by two individuals who didn’t even play in the game: Ed Ritter and Cadyn Williams. Ritter, a longtime baseball supporter and coach in the Hernando Youth League, had passed away on Sunday morning. Hernando High coach Tim Sims revealed that Ritter had called him on Saturday to say he was planning to attend the game. The Leopards dedicated the win to Ritter. Williams, a senior left-hander who has committed to play at South Florida, pitched a masterful game in Game 1 on Friday night, allowing the Leopards to have a rested and fully-available pitching staff for Games 2 and 3.
The Leopards will face South Sumter in the regional finals, with Game 1 scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m., Game 2 on Saturday at 2 p.m., and Game 3, if necessary, 30 minutes after the start of Game 2. All games will be played at Emerson Field. A series win against South Sumter would put the Leopards into the Final Four of the state tournament in back-to-back years for the first time in the school’s history.
Originally reported by Hernando Sun
Sources: Hernando Sun
