The following is an excerpt from the St. Pete Times' Sports Section, April 27:
ST. PETERSBURG — At his best, Tyler Larson throws three pitches.
Tuesday against Sarasota Out-of-Door Academy, he used them all with precision.
The Shorecrest senior confounded hitters, leaving them lunging and lurching at pitches that looked like one thing but were another.
Larson pitched a shutout, allowing three hits and striking out 10 in a 7-0 victory in the Class 2A, District 11 semifinals.
The Chargers (18-8), the top seed, will host Northside Christian in Thursday's championship game. The Mustangs, the No. 3 seed, beat No. 2 Bradenton St. Stephen's 3-2.
"I was just fired up because I'm a senior and I knew it was either win or go home," said Larson, who improved to 6-2. "This was probably my best performance of the year."
All three hits Larson allowed were singles and he didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position. He also was economical, throwing just 79 pitches.
"Tyler was extremely good with his location and was able to get through a lot of quick innings," Shorecrest coach Don Reed said.
Larson had the winning hit, a double in the fourth inning that brought home Jon Oorlog to give the Chargers a 1-0 lead. In the sixth, Shorecrest widened the gap, scoring six runs and sending 10 batters up.
