Hit or Miss: Jen Blanco

Luann Crawford loved watching her granddaughter, Sarah Crawford, play softball, but it was seeing the Braden River outfielder step up to the plate that gave Luann her biggest thrill. 

She loved seeing the look on her granddaughter’s face every time she helped power the Pirates to a victory. 

For the past three years, Luann Crawford or "Meme" as Sarah Crawford and the rest of her family lovingly called her, had been a fixture at the park, not only cheering for Sarah but her 11 other “granddaughters” as well. 

On those occasions when Luann couldn’t be in the stands, she would anxiously await her granddaughter’s call after the game.

“The first thing she would say was ‘How many big hits?’” Sarah Crawford said. 

Sarah Crawford has had her fair share of big hits for Braden River this season, including seven home runs, much to the delight of her grandmother. 

On April 29, during Braden River’s Class 7A-Region 3 championship game at home against Fort Myers, Sarah Crawford played for the first time since her grandmother passed away three days prior, during the Pirates' regional semifinal game April 26. 

Surrounded by her teammates, who all wrote "Meme" on their wrists in honor of Luann Crawford, Sarah Crawford made four trips to the plate in the Pirates 6-1 regional championship victory. Each time she stepped into the batter’s box, she tapped her bat to the ground and raised it up toward the sky. 

It’s a ritual she has done as she can remember — a silent greeting to her mother, Jennifer Crawford, who passed away when Sarah Crawford was just 3 years old. Last Friday night, her heartfelt ritual also included Meme as well. While she didn't end up with one of the team's 11 hits, just having Sarah Crawford back in the dugout was enough to carry the Pirates, who improved their record to 24-1 and earned a berth in the state semifinals for the first time since 2011. 

“Sarah is the heartbeat of our team,” coach Melissa Dowling said. “She’s loud and enthusiastic, and, if we find ourselves down, she’s the one we look toward to spark us and get a rally started. (Friday) night we definitely played in memory of Meme. We all lost a little bit when that happened.” 

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For me, when it comes to spectator sports, wrestling always has been one of the few sports I tend to shy away from.

Let’s face it, it’s hard to be glamorous when you’re twisting your opponent’s body into an uncomfortable looking pretzel. 

Yet, for the past nine years, I’ve always felt comfortable in the Lakewood Ranch wrestling room. 

It’s funny how the right coach can make you feel at home. 

Pat Ancil is one of those coaches. 

So you can imagine my disappointment when I learned that Ancil was stepping down from his position after 10 years with the program. 

With three members of his immediate family facing medical issues, Ancil knew he wouldn’t be able to give 100% to the program and felt it was best to step aside as soon as possible. 

An avid Buckeye like myself, Ancil and I first met in 2009. I had taken over the sports department and Ancil, who was in his second season as the Mustangs' head coach, was holding a mini camp with Ohio State wrestling coach Tom Ryan. 

That camp led to a discussions between Ancil and I about growing up in Ohio, family and, of course, his vision for Lakewood Ranch. 

Ancil believed in the importance of preparing his wrestlers for the future, particularly life outside the wrestling room; and over the years, I’ve been fortunate to see his vision come to fruition. 

During his tenure, Lakewood posted 217 wins, sent 15 wrestlers to the state tournament and had six wrestlers compete at the collegiate level. 

Off the mat, Ancil saw his wrestlers place in the top 10 in the state for team grade-point average seven years in a row, including this season when they won the team academic state championship with a 3.45 grade point average.

“If I had to say what my shining moment would be, it would be our first state qualifier under my regime, Kyle Riley-Hawkins. … and all of the successes through the years,” said Ancil, who hopes to return on a volunteer basis. “The interaction with the great kids, the great grade point averages and all of the things that we were able to accomplish. I hope that the bottom line was I made a positive mark on all of the kids.”