Harmony is a step closer to heading back to the state tournament, and can do it the easy way as repeat district champions.
The No. 1 Longhorns (24-2) got three hits and three runs from leadoff hitter Lily Mann and LeLe Ocasio tossed a two-hitter as Harmony dispatched bitter rival St. Cloud, 6-0 in the 7A District 5 championship at Osceola High School for its third title in a row.
The effort was very workman-like, with Ocasio being her usual dominant force and the offense delivering big hits at key times. It was just the effort that put Coach Jeff Fiorelli at ease.
"This is a tough time to see a rival, and it's hard to beat a team three times," he said. "They beat us once and it makes their season."
Brook Harris put Harmony 1-0 in the first when she doubled home Mann. Ocasio helped her cause when she doubled to left to score Mann again in the third.
Harris, playing third base, kept the Bulldogs from cutting the lead in the fourth when she snuffed out a suicide squeeze, covering the plate and tagging out a one-out St. Cloud runner. The Longhorns stretched the lead in the bottom of the inning when Mann singled over a drawn-in infield to score Molly Baker and Taylor Saltys.
From there Ocasio cruised, striking out eight. Two errors and a walk accounted for St. Cloud's other three baserunners.
Up next is the regional playoffs, where either team's next loss will be their last. Harmony will host District 6 runner-up Lakeland George Jenkins on Thursday; St. Cloud will travel to District 6 champ Bartow.
Fiorelli said he was impressed with how his Longhorns, who lost in the state semifinal to St. Thomas Aquinas last year, handled business on a game-by-game basis in the preliminary part of the season, and feels very good about his team going into the regionals.
"This team doesn't point fingers or hold one person accountable if it goes wrong," he said. "Our three seniors (Ocasio, Baker, Savannah Austin) want the (state championship) ring. They won't be satisfied with anything else."