Lakewood Ranch softball team follows similar path toward state championship

It appears the 2022 Lakewood Ranch High softball team is following the 2021 team's roadmap to the state championship. 

The seasons are syncing up — and it's no accident. 

Before this year's season began in February, Mustangs Head Coach T.J. Goelz heard a song on the road — he has no clue which one — that included lyrics about "running it back again." He rolled the words around his brain.

It was catchy, he thought, but it was not all-encompassing enough for his liking. See, Goelz did not want his team to focus solely on repeating a state title. He wanted the Mustangs to repeat everything — how they practiced, when they rested, the level of competition, their mindset and then, eventually, a state championship. 

That is why he tweaked the saying, making it "R.E.B.A" or Run Everything Back Again. He put the acronym on bracelets, which the team has worn each game. 

The mantra took hold and through the year, the Mustangs have played exactly how Goelz wanted them to play — but even Goelz could never have predicted the level at which this year's run mirrors last season. 

For starters, the Mustangs entered the postseason with the same 23-2 record as they did last postseason. They had easy wins in the district tournament semifinals (9-0 over Gulf Coast High this year, 9-1 over Hillsborough Riverview High last year) followed by tight wins in their respective district championship games (1-0 over Venice High this year, 2-0 over North Port High last year). In both district championship games, junior infielder Amanda Lee had the game-winning hit. 

It doesn't stop there. The Mustangs had the same set of potential regional opponents both years, albeit in a different order, and Lakewood Ranch followed those close district title wins by blowing out their regional quarterfinal opponents (13-3 over West Orange High this year, 15-8 over Steinbrenner High last year). 

Anyone want to tell me there isn't something magical going on? The players sure believe they're capable of something special. 

"We have talked about our confidence a lot," senior catcher Grace Hogie said. "Going into these last four (potential) games, we want to attack when we are at the plate. Having a close game against Venice is good because it shows we can win a defensive game, and it also renews our offensive fire."

Lakewood Ranch's offense has been good all season, but over its last seven games it has looked as potent as last year's team. The Mustangs are averaging 10.43 runs per game over that span, and that is with the 1-0 win over Venice. In the 13-3 win over West Orange, the team scored six first-inning runs off West Orange senior Gabriella Lindsey, including a Hogie home run. Lakewood Ranch would add three runs in the fourth inning and four runs in the fifth inning to run-rule the Warriors. 

The Mustangs' lone shaky moment came in the top of the fourth when West Orange scored two runs off sophomore pitcher Ella Dodge following two Mustangs errors. Neither run was charged to Dodge, but she did walk in a run a few batters later to make the score 4-3. Dodge then got out of the jam and was back to her dominant self the next inning. With the Mustangs' offense catching fire in the bottom of the fourth, the errors and walked-in run didn't matter much. 

Goelz said he was happy to see his young pitcher work out of a jam like that in a big game — but he would prefer for the Mustangs to avoid those situations entirely. 

"Our message to them now is, 'Play the full game,'" Goelz said. "Play it with focus. We're probably going to have another close game at some point, right?

"I mean, I hope not, but there will probably be a game within one or two runs. You cannot drop your focus at all. Everybody is playing for their lives. I was looking at the other team's (West Orange) seniors going through the line and they were a little teary-eyed, so I told our girls, 'You're all going to feel like that at some point, but let's not make it this year.' I want our seniors to have a happy ending and to win their last game. But they have to finish all the way through it." 

The Mustangs were set to host Windermere High (20-6, ranked ninth by Class 7A by MaxPreps) in the regional semifinals May 17. If they get past the Wolverines, the Mustangs will play either Newsome High (23-3) or East Lake High (21-6) in the regional finals at 7 p.m. May 20. 

Will R.E.B.A. works its magic? History would make Lakewood Ranch the favorite. The Mustangs crushed Newsome 15-4 in the regional semis last year and beat West Orange 7-2 in the regional finals.