Olympia No Match For Mathis, West Orange
Olympia No Match For Mathis, West Orange
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida -- In Wednesday night’s Class 9A, District 3 playoff game, West Orange junior pitcher Lauren Mathis did something she only did on
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida -- In Wednesday night’s Class 9A, District 3 playoff game, West Orange junior pitcher Lauren Mathis did something she only did one other time all season – give up an earned run.
It made little difference. After allowing a run-scoring double by Marissa Sidwell in the top of the first, Mathis did not allow a hit, and struck out 12 of the next 16 batters she faced as the Lady Warriors defeated Olympia, 11-1, in a game shortened to five innings because of the Florida High School Athletic Association “mercy rule.” Mathis, 19-1, was dominating. Leadoff hitter Jessica Lien walked and Sidwell ripped a double to the right-centerfield gap to give Olympia a 1-0 lead.
It would be the last hit Mathis gave up. After Livia Anderson fouled out weakly to third, Mathis took total control of the game. She walked just two batters and faced just one over the minimum the rest of the way.
“Lauren was outstanding,” West Orange head coach Todd LeNeave said. “But she has been that way all season. The one girl (Sidwell) had a couple of good at-bats against her, but other than that, she was completely dominating. When you have an outstanding outing and still have your ERA go up, I guess that is a pretty good indication that you are having a great season.”
With one earned run in five innings, Mathis only allowed two earned runs in 101.3 innings of work. She lifted her strikeout total to 208 and her ERA now stands at 0.14 on the season.
Offensively, the Lady Warriors jumped on Olympia starter Jill Chabolt early, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six runs in the bottom of the first. Samantha Gordon got things going with a two-run double after Jade Caraway and Lexie Blair opened the game with back-to-back singles. The West Orange inning was extended by a couple of fielding errors before Maggie Wheless concluded the inning with a run-scoring double.
Kalie Romig made it a 7-1 game with a run-scoring single in the second before the Lady Warriors broke the game wide-open in the third by scoring four more times. As in the first inning, Gordon and Wheless each had RBI doubles.
Gordon finished the game going two for three with four RBI and a pair of doubles. Wheless also had a pair of hits as the Lady Warriors pounded out nine hits in four innings. West Orange also stole four bases and took advantage of five walks.
“Overall, I was pleased with all aspects of the game tonight,” LeNeave added. “In the last couple of games it took a while to getting going offensively, but we came out aggressive today both at the plate and on the base paths.”
West Orange, now 24-1, will now face host Lake Brantley, 15-11, and 8-1 winner over Apopka in the other District semifinal. It will be the third meeting this season between the two teams, with West Orange winning 6-0 back on Feb. 23 and 4-0 on Feb. 5.
“We are anticipating a tough game,” LeNeave added. “They are good team and are well-coached. Both games were extremely close until we came up with big innings late.” In the most recent outing, West Orange led 2-0 before scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Under playoff format, both the district champion and runner-up advance to next week’s regional competition.
The game is set for 7:30PM on Friday, April 15.
Written By: J. Daniel Pearson
Related:
FAB 50 High School Rankings
It made little difference. After allowing a run-scoring double by Marissa Sidwell in the top of the first, Mathis did not allow a hit, and struck out 12 of the next 16 batters she faced as the Lady Warriors defeated Olympia, 11-1, in a game shortened to five innings because of the Florida High School Athletic Association “mercy rule.” Mathis, 19-1, was dominating. Leadoff hitter Jessica Lien walked and Sidwell ripped a double to the right-centerfield gap to give Olympia a 1-0 lead.
It would be the last hit Mathis gave up. After Livia Anderson fouled out weakly to third, Mathis took total control of the game. She walked just two batters and faced just one over the minimum the rest of the way.
“Lauren was outstanding,” West Orange head coach Todd LeNeave said. “But she has been that way all season. The one girl (Sidwell) had a couple of good at-bats against her, but other than that, she was completely dominating. When you have an outstanding outing and still have your ERA go up, I guess that is a pretty good indication that you are having a great season.”
With one earned run in five innings, Mathis only allowed two earned runs in 101.3 innings of work. She lifted her strikeout total to 208 and her ERA now stands at 0.14 on the season.
Offensively, the Lady Warriors jumped on Olympia starter Jill Chabolt early, sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring six runs in the bottom of the first. Samantha Gordon got things going with a two-run double after Jade Caraway and Lexie Blair opened the game with back-to-back singles. The West Orange inning was extended by a couple of fielding errors before Maggie Wheless concluded the inning with a run-scoring double.
Kalie Romig made it a 7-1 game with a run-scoring single in the second before the Lady Warriors broke the game wide-open in the third by scoring four more times. As in the first inning, Gordon and Wheless each had RBI doubles.
Gordon finished the game going two for three with four RBI and a pair of doubles. Wheless also had a pair of hits as the Lady Warriors pounded out nine hits in four innings. West Orange also stole four bases and took advantage of five walks.
“Overall, I was pleased with all aspects of the game tonight,” LeNeave added. “In the last couple of games it took a while to getting going offensively, but we came out aggressive today both at the plate and on the base paths.”
West Orange, now 24-1, will now face host Lake Brantley, 15-11, and 8-1 winner over Apopka in the other District semifinal. It will be the third meeting this season between the two teams, with West Orange winning 6-0 back on Feb. 23 and 4-0 on Feb. 5.
“We are anticipating a tough game,” LeNeave added. “They are good team and are well-coached. Both games were extremely close until we came up with big innings late.” In the most recent outing, West Orange led 2-0 before scoring four runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away.
Under playoff format, both the district champion and runner-up advance to next week’s regional competition.
The game is set for 7:30PM on Friday, April 15.
Written By: J. Daniel Pearson
Related:
FAB 50 High School Rankings