Caraway and Mathis Clinch District Title for West Orange
Caraway and Mathis Clinch District Title for West Orange
Lauren Mathis fired a two-hitter and Jade Caraway scored twice and knocked in a third run to lead West Orange to a 4-0 win over Lake Brantley High in the Cl
Lauren Mathis fired a two-hitter and Jade Caraway scored twice and knocked in a third run to lead West Orange to a 4-0 win over Lake Brantley High in the Class 9A District 3 championship game on Friday night.
It marked the third meeting between the two teams, with West Orange winning all three games via shutout – outscoring the Lady Patriots, 14 to 0 in the process.
The win lifted the Lady Warriors, 25-1, into a regional quarterfinal home game next Wednesday against Freedom. Lake Brantley, 15-13, will begin regional play on the road as district runner-up.
See where West Orange RANKS in the FAB 50 National High School Rankings
He added that it was not a routine win. “As was the case the first two times we played them, it was not an easy game for us,” LeNeave said of the Lady Patriots. “Lake Brantley is a scrappy team and I would not be surprised if we meet again in regional play.”
As has been the case all season, West Orange won the game with great pitching, timely hitting and aggressive base running.
Mathis once again provided the pitching for the Lady Warriors, retiring the first 11 batters she faced before giving up a two-out single by Logan Johnson. The only other Lake Brantley player to reach base was Hannah Stearns on a sharp single to right in the fifth.
In running her record to 20-1 on the season, Mathis struck out 11 and lowered her ERA to 0.12 on the season with 219 strikeouts in 108 and 1/3 innings.
Offensively, Caraway would give Mathis all the run support they would need in the third inning. With two outs and a runner at second, Caraway chopped a single over the head of Lake Brantley pitcher Emily Baker and into centerfield. Caraway would then steal both second and third before scoring on Lexie Blair’s RBI single to center.
West Orange upped the lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Morgan Arcia singled and came around to score on back-to-back singles by Amanda Fleming and Maggie Wheless. Caraway would close out the scoring in the fifth, reaching on an infield hit, moving to second on Blair’s sacrifice bunt and scoring on Samantha Golden’s sharp single to right.
“It’s never easy to beat Lake Brantley,” Caraway said on beating the Lady Patriots for a third straight time. “She (Baker) is a really good pitcher and she kept us off-balance early. On my first hit, I was just trying to stay patient and hit it hard up the middle. Once we got that first run in, we started to relax a little because we knew once we got Lauren the lead, we had confidence she would not let anyone score.”
And has been the case all season, West Orange was aggressive on the base paths. The Lady Warriors stole four bases and also moved runners over twice with sacrifice bunts.
Although he said his team had not played Freedom in the last five or six years and was not familiar with them, LeNeave felt his team would rise to the challenge. “Sometimes I think it is easier to get ready for teams we have not seen during the regular season,” he noted. “It’s a lot of fun playing new teams and in many ways it keeps you from getting over-confident. Even though we don’t know a lot about them, it doesn’t really matter because we are not going to change the way we go about our business.”
Written by J.D. Pearson
It marked the third meeting between the two teams, with West Orange winning all three games via shutout – outscoring the Lady Patriots, 14 to 0 in the process.
The win lifted the Lady Warriors, 25-1, into a regional quarterfinal home game next Wednesday against Freedom. Lake Brantley, 15-13, will begin regional play on the road as district runner-up.
The first goal we write on the board each season is to win the district title,West Orange Head Coach Todd LeNeave said. “Regardless of how successful you are and how far you advance in the playoffs, winning the district is a big deal to both our players and our school.”
See where West Orange RANKS in the FAB 50 National High School Rankings
He added that it was not a routine win. “As was the case the first two times we played them, it was not an easy game for us,” LeNeave said of the Lady Patriots. “Lake Brantley is a scrappy team and I would not be surprised if we meet again in regional play.”
As has been the case all season, West Orange won the game with great pitching, timely hitting and aggressive base running.
Mathis once again provided the pitching for the Lady Warriors, retiring the first 11 batters she faced before giving up a two-out single by Logan Johnson. The only other Lake Brantley player to reach base was Hannah Stearns on a sharp single to right in the fifth.
In running her record to 20-1 on the season, Mathis struck out 11 and lowered her ERA to 0.12 on the season with 219 strikeouts in 108 and 1/3 innings.
Offensively, Caraway would give Mathis all the run support they would need in the third inning. With two outs and a runner at second, Caraway chopped a single over the head of Lake Brantley pitcher Emily Baker and into centerfield. Caraway would then steal both second and third before scoring on Lexie Blair’s RBI single to center.
West Orange upped the lead to 3-0 in the fourth when Morgan Arcia singled and came around to score on back-to-back singles by Amanda Fleming and Maggie Wheless. Caraway would close out the scoring in the fifth, reaching on an infield hit, moving to second on Blair’s sacrifice bunt and scoring on Samantha Golden’s sharp single to right.
“It’s never easy to beat Lake Brantley,” Caraway said on beating the Lady Patriots for a third straight time. “She (Baker) is a really good pitcher and she kept us off-balance early. On my first hit, I was just trying to stay patient and hit it hard up the middle. Once we got that first run in, we started to relax a little because we knew once we got Lauren the lead, we had confidence she would not let anyone score.”
And has been the case all season, West Orange was aggressive on the base paths. The Lady Warriors stole four bases and also moved runners over twice with sacrifice bunts.
Although he said his team had not played Freedom in the last five or six years and was not familiar with them, LeNeave felt his team would rise to the challenge. “Sometimes I think it is easier to get ready for teams we have not seen during the regular season,” he noted. “It’s a lot of fun playing new teams and in many ways it keeps you from getting over-confident. Even though we don’t know a lot about them, it doesn’t really matter because we are not going to change the way we go about our business.”
Written by J.D. Pearson