Top-ranked Lakewood Ranch softball team shines under the (disco) lights

The highest-ranked softball team in Florida dances under the artificial light of three disco balls before each game.

When the Lakewood Ranch High Mustangs received a requests form for their new locker room, completed over the offseason, sophomore Avery Goelz wrote down disco balls as a joke, thinking there was no way they would be provided.

She was wrong, and now the Mustangs get their groove on to a combination of country, rap and showtunes (specifically from “Hamilton”) before home games, provided sophomore Brooklyn Lucero. Sophomore outfielder Taylor Woodring even goes by “DJ Glitter Girl,” and has embraced the persona so much, she wears cleats awash in her namesake's reflective particles.

Both on and off the field, the team always goes hard.

Lakewood Ranch (11-1) is ranked first in the state in all classifications by Miracle Sports and MaxPreps as of March 25 (29th nationally). The program has gotten better year after year, reaching the regional semifinals in 2016 and the regional finals last year, falling to Plant City 1-0 in 11 innings.

This year, there’s a belief among the players this is the year they get over the hump. The Mustangs won the Tournament of Champions on March 17 in Winter Park, defeating Aucilla Christian 11-0 in the finals and defending state champion Oakleaf High 7-6 (nine innings) in the semifinals.

“It was an eye opener,” junior third baseman Maddie Koczersut said. “It showed us what we still need to work on. It was the closest we’ll get a state championship game (feeling) until the playoffs.”

How much could the Mustangs still have to work on? Quite a bit, sophomore Avery Goelz said. The University of Florida commit said the team made too many errors during its tournament win, and those things could cost the team at an inopportune time. The team’s slogan, hanging inside its home dugout, is “one herd, one goal.” If the team doesn’t reach the title game, it’ll be a disappointment, Koczersut and Goelz said.

Ironically, the team believes it might not have won the tournament without first stumbling. The Mustangs' lone loss came in their second game of the year, a 4-3 road loss to district rival Sarasota High.

“That game could have pulled us apart or pushed us together,” senior catcher Morgan Cummins said. “I think it really strengthened us. It strengthened our minds, our work ethic, and pushed us to be better than that. To strive for the excellence that we know we have (inside them).”

The next day’s practice wasn’t a sea of heads turned downward, Cummins said. It was full of fire. Sophomore pitcher Payton Kinney said players started backing up each other on every play, explaining plays to confused teammates and generally working to ensure everyone becomes the best versions of themselves.

Kinney and Lucero are two reasons for the Mustangs’ dominance. Last season, the team’s pitching staff was led by Logan Newton, now at James Madison University. It would be difficult to replace Newton’s contribution, but Kinney, committed to the University of Connecticut, and Lucero, committed to North Carolina State University, said they spent last year watching what worked for Newton and what didn’t.

They have more than lived up to her work. As of March 23, outside of the Oakleaf game, the team had allowed nine runs all season, with Kinney’s earned run average sitting at 0.49. Senior Kailey Christian and junior Kayla Howard have also have multiple appearances this year, and carry ERAs under one. 

Cummins said she’s proud of her pitching staff, and is starting to learn what makes them tick. For her part, Cummins, an LSU commit, is hitting .361 with two home runs, and has thrown out five baserunners.

The lineup is full of impressive hitters. Goelz, ranked No. 3 nationally in the class of 2020 by FloSoftball, is hitting .500 with a team-leading 13 RBI as of March 21, and Koczersut matches her .500 average. They both have a pair of home runs. Lucero is hitting .588 to go with her work on the mound.

Lakewood Ranch's improved mindset came full circle on March 22, when the team defeated Sarasota 10-3 at home, led by two home runs from Goelz and one from Christian. 

Head coach TJ Goelz, Avery Goelz’s father, said the team has a chance to be special. He would know. He’s also the coach of the Tampa Mustangs-TJ travel team, a perennial national contender which won the U.S. championship in 2015.

His players were a bit more blunt.

“We are going to win the state title,” Lucero said. Cummins and Kinney agree. So do Goelz and Koczersut. With the rock-solid quintet leading the way, it’ll be hard to prove them wrong.