Lakewood Ranch softball believes in breakthrough as playoffs arrive

When you're the two-time defending state champs, you get the benefit of the doubt.

And there is doubt. The Lakewood Ranch High softball team is 15-9 in 2023.

It's a mark good enough for second in the Class 7A District 8 standings, but when the program went 60-4 over the previous two seasons, nine losses figures to be disturbing.

As of April 28, the team has lost three of its last four games, most recently a 2-1 heartbreaker at home to Class 3A state contender Bishop Verot High (20-4). 

Yet the mood around the team has not been one of doom and gloom. After the loss to Bishop Verot, Lakewood Ranch first-year varsity Head Coach Todd Lee was bullish on his team's postseason prospects. 

"We're playing average ball (to their own standards)," Lee said. "If we can just play good ball, we're going to be trouble for anybody, and we have the potential to play great ball. We have a good chunk of the team that has been there all the way to the end and knows what it takes. You have to finish in the postseason."

Lee's rationale might seem like typical coach optimism at first blush, but there are reasons to believe he's right. For one thing, seven of Lakewood Ranch's nine losses have been by a single run, and two of those seven have come in extra innings. They also have, according to MaxPreps data, the third-toughest schedule in Class 7A, behind only Lake Brantley High (18-3), whom the Mustangs beat in the state title game a year ago, and Lake Mary High (11-11).

With even a slightly less difficult schedule, the Mustangs would likely have a record more fitting of their two-time champs status.

But that is no excuse for losing, and Lee knows that.

When he describes their play as "average" thus far, he means it. While the top half of Lakewood Ranch's order has been strong, led by all-world outfielder Cassidy McLellan in the leadoff spot, the back half has struggled to find consistency.

This isn't a surprise, given that most of the players the Mustangs have tried in the back half of the lineup are inexperienced at the varsity level. Lee knows they need to improve in the postseason for the Mustangs to have a chance.

"We used to get 17, 18, 19 hits a game," Lee said. "We're not going to do that. It's about on-base percentage for us. Do we get a hit? Do we take a walk? Whatever we need to do to get on base."

Photo by Ryan Kohn

Lee also said the team needs to stop getting in its own way. Against Bishop Verot, the Mustangs had plenty of opportunities to win. Offensively, Lakewood Ranch had runners in scoring position in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings and failed to bring home a run.

Defensively. there have been problems as well. Bishop Verot scores its first run against the Mustangs on a strikeout. Mustangs pitcher Ella Dodge struck out Bishop Verot freshman Payton Breadmore, but the umpire determined that Lakewood Ranch catcher Addyson Bruneman had dropped the pitch and it was thus a live ball. Bishop Verot's Gianni Torres scored after Bruneman tossed the ball in the dirt and headed to the dugout.

The Mustangs disputed the call, claiming Bruneman caught the third strike pitch before it hit the dirt. Regardless of whether the call was right or wrong, the Mustangs lacked some defensive awareness as Breadmore ran to first and Torres scored during the chaos.

The next inning, Bishop Verot scored the winning run on a Mustangs' fielding error with two outs. 

Lee said the team's practices will focus on ironing out those mistakes and perfecting the details of the game. It is what has set the Mustangs apart from its competition in the past. 

Photo by Ryan Kohn

"We practice with the intensity of a live game," Lee said. "The pressure's on. We are hard on them. We need those senior players to help pull up the bottom. If that happens, we're a fun group. We're still a little bit disconnected instead of being together, but we're like, an inning away. 

"It could still be a magic season, and I think it's going to happen."

If Lakewood Ranch can indeed eliminate untimely mistakes and find a bit more more offensive juice, dreams of another deep postseason run are not crazy. McLellan is dominating the competition despite opposing teams often choosing to pitch around her. She's hitting .577 with 12 doubles, three triples and five home runs. Lakewood Ranch also has the reigning Class 7A Player of the Year on the mound in Dodge, a University of Tennessee commit (2.36 ERA). She's split more time with freshman Olivia Carr this year than she did with anyone a season ago, so she should be fresh for the postseason. She's helped her own cause, too, hitting .452. 

While the back half of the lineup waits for a full breakthrough, there were positive signs against Bishop Verot. Sophomore infielder Jersie Rohde showed strong plate discipline, walking twice in the later innings and getting into scoring position by taking a base on a passed ball. Junior Leah James also had a key hit late. 

It's going to take a different way of winning than Lakewood Ranch and its fans are used to seeing, but the team has the talent to make the adjustment. Lee is right. If the Mustangs play up to their own standards, they're still tough to beat. 

Can they make the necessary adjustments in time?

After two titles, we should give them benefit of the doubt. 

The team's district tournament runs through May 4.