Lady Mustangs keep title hopes alive

LAKEWOOD RANCH — The Lakewood Ranch High softball team doesn’t have one specific player on which it can rely.

It has 21.

On any given night, Lakewood Ranch coach Tony Cummins can turn to his dugout and know that any one of his players can get the job done.

Such was the case last Friday, when the Lady Mustangs played host to Seminole Osceola in a Class 3A-Region 3 semifinal.

Cummins spent the days leading up to the game reminding his players not to take the Lady Warriors lightly. Lakewood learned early on how difficult it could be. Having suffered a pair of lopsided losses — a 15-1 loss during the regular season and a 9-1 loss in the district championship — Seminole Osceola made the necessary adjustments it needed to keep Lakewood from putting together another dominate performance.
In doing so, the Lady Mustangs had to make adjustments of their own, relying on other players to make plays when it counted.

Clinging to a 3-2 lead in bottom of the fifth inning, pinch runner Jess McKinnon and Taylor Newton took off at the sound of Jenn Trotter’s two-out fly ball to left field. The two wound up scoring after the ball was misplayed, propelling Lakewood to 5-4 victory.

“The coaching staff has preached the idea of team since the very first day of conditioning,” Cummins said. “The idea that no one player will (dictate) how our season goes, and I think they bought it. I think they believe it.”

Senior pitcher Huntyre Elling pitched another compete game for Lakewood, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out eight in the victory.

It may not have been her most dominate performance, but Elling, who allowed one hit and a pair of walks while striking out 10 in Lakewood’s 7-0 victory over Tampa Jefferson in the regional quarterfinals April 24, recorded the necessary outs when she needed them, proving once again why she is considered one of the most talented pitchers in the area.

“(Scoreless) ball games in the sixth inning are fun, because they’re intense, but it’s a lot easier going out there knowing you have three or four runs behind you, and I have confidence in them to get the runs for me,” Elling said. “I like pressure situations, because I have to barrel down and focus extremely hard on it. The easy situations, I’ll take them, but I’d rather have the pressure ones.”

“I believe she’s one of the very best pitchers in the state,” Cummins said. “She’s so smart and she’s so gifted when it comes to understanding what hitters will hit at and won’t swing at.

“Last summer I told her ‘You’re going to take us there,’” Cummins said. “She’s just that good.”

Lakewood scored two runs in the top of the first on an RBI single by Trotter and a sacrifice bunt by Dana Hutchins. Jacqueline Schoff singled in the second inning and eventually scored on a groundout by Amber Ozment.

With the win, Lakewood made its first regional final appearance for the first time since 2010. The Lady Mustangs played host to District 10 runner-up River Ridge May 1 with the winner advancing to the FHSAA state finals May 9-10 in Clermont.

“We definitely go into it like it’s our last game,” Elling said. “We’re fighting all of the way through.”
Results from Lakewood’s regional final were unavailable as of press time Tuesday. Be sure to check www.YourObserver.com to see how the Lady Mustangs fared.

BRADEN RIVER
Braden River High coach Doug Powell knew it was going to be a battle no matter which team the Lady Pirates faced in the Class 3A-Region 3 semifinals.

They would either face a hard-hitting Sarasota team for the fourth time this season or an unknown opponent in Okeechobee, who had an ace of its own.

Braden River ended up playing host to the latter in a regional semifinal April 27. With a trip to the regional finals on the line, Braden River ace Courtney Mirabella, who already has committed to N.C. State University, was her usual dominant self, allowing four hits while striking out 12.

But across the diamond, Lady Brahmas pitcher Sam Harrell put together an impressive performance of her own, allowing one hit, an infield single by Brittany Cole, through the first six innings.

Braden River rallied with back-to-back singles by Hannah Loyer and Hannah Ryan in the bottom of the seventh inning; but Harrell struck out Cole, securing Okeechobee’s 1-0 victory and ending the Lady Pirates season.

“We knew it was going to be a pitchers’ duel,” Powell said. “We struggled with her rise ball and just weren’t disciplined at the plate.

“We made some adjustments late in the game, but it was too late,” Powell said. “No doubt, we would have prevailed if we had another inning or two. Courtney pitched a great game, but we have to give their pitcher a lot of credit.”

The Lady Pirates, who finished the season with a 23-6 record and captured their first district title in three years, will lose three seniors: Elena Lopez, Kristen Coleman and Emily Sadler.

Contact Jen Blanco at [email protected].