West Orange Softball Back-To-Back State Champions

West Orange Softball Back-To-Back State Champions

Orange Park Oakleaf and Winter Garden West Orange both delivered dominating performances in claiming Florida state softball championships over the weekend at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL.

May 23, 2017 by Dan Pearson
West Orange Softball Back-To-Back State Champions
Orange Park Oakleaf and Winter Garden West Orange both delivered dominating performances in claiming Florida state softball championships over the weekend at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL.

West Orange 1, Palm Harbor 0

West Orange, behind the brilliant pitching of Georgia-bound Lauren Mathis, became the first Central Florida team to claim back-to-back state fastpitch titles with a win over Palm Harbor University High School in the Class 9A final.

Mathis was sensational in the championship game, pitching a complete-game four-hitter. She struck out 13 and walked just one. The only real threat against Mathis came in the bottom of the seventh when Palm Harbor loaded the bases with just one out. Mathis calmly struck out Taylor Scott and got Florida-commit Mia Buffano to line out to short to end the rally and the game.

During the entire inning, Mathis' demeanor never changed.

"My father always taught me to never show emotion on the mound, to never show your opponent a sign of weakness or to let them know they have you rattled," Mathis said. "Regardless of what is going on around me, I just try to stay in the moment and focus on the task at hand."

Unlike their 11-0 blowout against Miami Palmetto in the semifinals, the Warriors had a tough time in the finals solving Palm Harbor's Savanah Bennett, who also allowed just four hits. West Orange did not take the lead until the top of the sixth, scratching out a run on Lexie Blair's triple and a sacrifice fly by Morgan Arcia.

Still the game was about Mathis and her senior teammates. Mathis went 2-0 in the tournament, striking out 21, walking one, and allowing just five singles in 11 innings of work.

"This team and group of seniors will go down in history as special in so many ways," West Orange head coach Todd LaNeave said. "Being the first team in school history to win back-to-back state titles is at the top of the list, but I will remember them for so much more. Their hard work, attitude, and grit were all evident as they simply got better every game."

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The Warriors (28-3) won 24 of their last 25 games -- including shutting out four of their final five opponents in the postseason.

Oakleaf 6, Wellington 1

Like West Orange, Oakleaf had no drama in the semifinals -- blasting St. Thomas Aquinas 10-0. But its win over Wellington in the 8A title game was a bit tougher than the final score indicated.

With Oakleaf leading 2-1 after the first inning, the score remained the same until the Knights broke the game wide open with four unearned runs in the top of the seventh.

Oakleaf head coach Christina Thompson saw her team win its last 26 games and outscore the opposition 56-1 in the postseason as the Knights claimed their first state title.

Pitching was the key for Oakleaf as Kelsey Sweatt picked up wins in both the semis and championship game. Sweatt worked 12 innings, allowing seven hits and just one run while striking out 10 and waking four.

She constantly worked her way out of trouble in the middle innings, getting key strikeouts and weak pop-ups with runners in scoring positions several times, including the bottom of the sixth when Wellington loaded the bases with one out but failed to score.

Her teammates, led by freshman Katie Kistler (5 for 9, two runs, three RBIs in state tournament), provided Sweatt with plenty of run support -- scoring 16 runs in the final two games of the state tournament.

"The goal from the beginning was to bring a championship home to Clay County," Thompson said. "After we got upset in the regionals last year, we decided that we were not going to worry about our ranking or anything else. Just concentrate on our next game."

One of Oakleaf's only two losses this season came at the hands of West Orange, a 4-0 road setback in early March.

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Other Florida teams winning state championships included Union County (1A), St. Petersburg Canterbury (2A), Fort Pierce John Carroll (3A), Miami Westminster (4A), Coral Springs (5A), Land O' Lakes (6A) and Fort Meyers (7A).


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