More Countryside magic at Dunedin tourney

   Last year, Countryside made a surprising run all the way to the final at the Dunedin Spring Classic, knocking off the hosts along the way.
   Monday, the Cougars showed more of that Englebert bewitchment, stunning Class 3A, No. 5-state ranked Florida Christian 7-6.
   The Cougars had lost 12 of their last 13 games coming in to the tournament. They trailed 5-2 before rallying to take a 7-5 lead in the botom of the sixth inning. Florida Christian (14-3) made a run in the top of the seventh, scoring a run and putting runners on 2nd and 3rd, but sophomore Kyle Parry shut 'em down to get the win.
   Some of the other highlights:
   Clearwater Central Catholic walloped Northeast 17-0. No, really. Joe McLemore had three doubles, Cody Slaughter homered, and Ryan Weber overcame some early wildness (wow...Weber and wildness in same sentence, don't see that often) to dominate. A big crowd showed up to watch, and there was quite the buzz in the crowd when Weber hit 92 mph on the speed guns.
   East Lake beat Canterbury 6-5, overcoming two deficits and the top of the seventh inning, when the Crusaders tied the game. In the bottom of the seventh, however, Canterbury freshman pitcher Adam Graves  (who pitched very well) looked like he was going to strand a runner and take the game into extras when a fly ball -- a cliche-scarred writer might call it a can of corn -- was dropped in left, allowing the winning run to score.
   Palm Harbor knocked off Pinellas Park in a loser's bracket game 11-4 as Craig Roepke doubled three times.
   Winner's bracket games today:
   Dunedin-Tates (Ky.) Creek and East Lake-St. Petersburg at 5 p.m., Countryside-Tarpon Springs at 8 p.m.
   Elsewhere:
   It should also be noted that Clearwater picked up a huge win at a tournament down south, defeating Palm Beach Gardens 5-4 with a run in the 7th and another in the 9th. PBG is ranked No. 8 in Class 6A. Sweet.