Class 3A-7 Baseball: Browning Tosses Third No-Hitter of the Season
Wed. April 25, 2012 at 12:12 a.m. | By Polk Preps Staff
BY LISA COFFEY
THE LEDGER
FORT MEADE | Fort Meade baseball coach Jon Spradlin was pleased when he saw that Lakeland Christian's Logan Browning was pitching Tuesday night.
That meant Browning wasn't pitching in Friday's Class 3A, District 7 championship game against Fort Meade.
"Do you blame me?" he asked after the Lakeland Christian game against McKeel Academy.
That's because Browning tossed his third no-hitter of the season, defeating the Wildcats 4-0 in the district semifinals.
The Vikings (14-9) meet the Miners, a 6-1 victor over Santa Fe in the early semifinal, at 7 p.m. on Friday at Miner Field for the championship.
"When that kid is on, he dominates," Spradlin said.
Browning, a 16-year-old sophomore, who is the son for former Cincinnati Reds pitcher Tom Browning, fanned 12 and walked two for the victory.
He had a perfect game into the sixth until he walked the leadoff batter. He also walked the leadoff batter in the seventh.
He had pitched no hitters against Fort Meade and Bartow earlier this season.
"He had a good mixture of everything," Lakeland Christian coach Blane Fox said.
Browning relied on his fast ball for most of the game. He's known to throw it 88-90 mph.
Location and the defense behind him was key Tuesday.
"He spots the ball real well," McKeel coach Mike Steele said.
"From the beginning I knew I was throwing strikes," Browning said. "Our defense tonight was real good."
Not one ball went out of the infield for McKeel.
In the top of the sixth, McKeel's Kyle Schackne laid down a beautiful bunt that died near home plate. Vikings third baseman Rafael Bournigal raced to it and barely got the out at first.
One out later, Vikings catcher Marcus Stump mishandled a third strike. He quickly stepped back a few feet, collected the ball and fired an out to first to keep the perfect game going.
Ft. Meade 6, Santa Fe 1
Ft. Meade 003 011 1 — 6 7 2
Santa Fe 000 000 1 — 1 4 7
WP: Trent Gantt. LP: Evan Barnes. 3B: Jalen Brown (FM).
Highlights: Gantt held Santa Fe to 4 hits and fanned 7. Records: Ft. Meade 11-13. Santa Fe 10-16.
Lakeland Christian 4, McKeel 0
McKeel 000 000 0 — 0 0 0
LCS 102 010 0 — 4 7 0
WP: Logan Browning. LP: Jake Pfingston. 2B: Marcus Stump (LCS), Tyler Leach (LCS), Ben Andress (LCS).
Highlights: Rafael Bournigal was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Andress and Stump doubled in runs. Records: Lakeland Christian 14-9. McKeel 7-18.
