Palm Harbor University Walks Off On Clearwater

Palm Harbor University Hurricanes walked-off over the visiting Clearwater Tornadoes in the bottom of the tenth inning on Tuesday for a 2-1 victory. John Pichman singled and then scored on an RBI double from Brian Brown to lift the Hurricanes.

Pichman set the tone for Palm Harbor as he pitched a strong game, allowing just the one run over seven innings. Pitchman fell just short of 100 pitches, of which he was able to strike out six batters while only walking four and allowing just four hits. Of the 25 batters he faced, 15 of them began behind in the count.

Palm Harbor (2-1) got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning on an error. The Tornadoes tied it up in the top of the third inning when senior Clayton Slater hit a single past the short stop to bring home sophomore outfielder Avery Cordner-James.

The only real threat for either team came in the bottom of the fifth when Palm Harbor was able to get a few guys on base. But strong defense continued to be the theme as Clearwater dispatched the threat, and both teams remained deadlocked over the next four innings.

Slater was the star for Clearwater (2-2). On the offensive side, Slater went 2-for-3 with a walk and supplied the only RBI on the day. On the mound, Slater went seven innings, allowing no earned runs, and struck out five while walking no batters. He showed great command by throwing 21 first-pitch strikes.

Next up for the Tornadoes is a home district match-up against the Northeast Vikings (2-0) on Friday night, where they will look to remain undefeated at home. The Hurricanes play their next game at home on Friday afternoon against district rival Alonso (1-3).

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