No. 2 West Orange Win 9A State Title
No. 2 West Orange Win 9A State Title
VERO BEACH, Fla. (May 7)—Ranked second nationally, the West Orange Warriors completed a near perfect season on Saturday night, defeating Tampa Alonso, 6-0,
VERO BEACH, Fla. (May 7)—Ranked second nationally, the West Orange Warriors completed a near perfect season on Saturday night, defeating Tampa Alonso, 6-0, in the Class 9A State Championship game at the Historic Dodgertown Sports Complex at Vero Beach.
And once again, the Warriors won with a combination of timely hitting, aggressive base running and outstanding pitching from junior Lauren Mathis. Mathis allowed just two hits and no runs in pitching a complete game. She struck out 15 and did not walk a batter. Alonso did not get a ball out of the infield until Laura Diaz’s single to left with two outs in the fifth.
The junior, who went to 25-1 on the season, struck out 26 and allowed just five hits in 14 innings of state tournament play. She was the winning pitcher in both games.
“Lauren never gets rattled,” LeNeave said. “She is so composed regardless of the situation. When she gives up a hit or two, her mindset is okay let’s just make the next pitch better than the last one. Her performance during the state tournament demonstrated it and it’s the same approach she has taken all year.”
“Obviously, you want to do well on the biggest stage,” Mathis said. “I never show a lot of emotion on the field, but I was nervous tonight -- particularly before the start of the game. Striking out the side in the first inning settled me down and I started to get ahead of the hitters. I think that made them a little anxious and they started chasing the rise ball out of the zone.”
Alonso, a surprise state qualifier after a lackluster 11-11 regular season, kept the game close. While Mathis was dominating by retiring the first 12 batters she faced, Ravens pitcher Jodi Handler and her defense were almost equally impressive.
Handler struck out three batters and saw her defense make three sensational plays in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Warriors failed to capitalize on three hits and a hit batsman in the first four frames.
Alonso had a slight chance to get at Mathis in the fifth. Jessica Louth reached on Sam Golden’s throwing error and two outs later Diaz lined her clean single to left. But Mathis struck out Kristin Kopp on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning.
West Orange would crack the Alonso defense in the fifth inning, plating three runs. With runners on second and third and two out, Lexi Blair lined a single to center to score Maggie Wheless and Haley Penrose.
“With two outs, I was just trying to stay back and make sure I made solid contact,” Blair said.
“Fortunately, I got a pitch down the center of the plate and was able to hit it hard up the middle.” Blair would then steal second and running on a 3-2 pitch scored from second when Alonso failed to complete the putout on Goldon’s strikeout. Catcher Madison Colitis dropped the third strike and her throw to first was too late to get Golden. On the play, Blair beat the relay home.
The Lady Warriors tacked on three more runs in the sixth as Wheless lined a hard single to center and Jade Carraway brought home two more runs with a bloop single. West Orange’s championship was the first softball title by a Central Florida public school since Lake Mary won in 1988. The Lady Warriors only loss of the season came to Class 6A State Champion
American Heritage, 1-0, back on Feb. 20.
See the entire FAB 50 National High School Rankings
The results of other championship play on Saturday…
Class 5A
Allison Muraskin scattered three hits and slammed a two-run double to lead Coral Springs Charter (26-3) to its second straight Florida state Class 5A state championship with a 9-2 win over Bayshore High.
Muraskin fired a complete game, allowing three hits, two runs with three walks to go with 14 strikeouts. Barb Vega also drove in a pair of runs for Coral Springs, which broke open a tight 2-1 game with a two spot in the top of the sixth before putting the game away with five more runs in the seventh.
Under head coach Mark Montimurro, the Lady Panthers have won 55 of their last 59 games. In addition to winning the back-to- back state titles, Montimurro also collected his fourth FHSAA title, winning back-to-back crowns in 2003-04 with Hollywood Christian.
Lashara James accounted for both of Bayshore’s runs with a pair of solo home runs.
Class 6A
Sydney Grobman and Jordyn Griffith combined to score and drive in three runs each to lead American Heritage High School (26-2) to its second Florida Class 6A State Championship in the last three years, beating Arnold High, 12-2. The game was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.
Grobman went two for four with a home run to back the complete game effort of Madison Canby, who allowed three hits and two runs to go with four walks and two strikeouts.
In addition to a second title in three years for Heritage, Panthers Head Coach Marty Cooper now has now led that Panthers to seven state titles and two state runner-up finishes in his 14 seasons as head coach.
CLASS 7A
As had been the case all season, it was the Katie Chronister show as Gainesville High School (31-2) defeated Lake Region High School, 1-0, to capture its first state championship under head coach Pete Mariano.
Chronister fired a complete game for the Hurricanes, scattering four hits while walking two and striking out nine. She was also the star at the plate, collecting three of Gainesville’s five hits and scoring the lone run of the game on Hallie Karas’ sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.
Lake Region ended up as state runner-ups for the second time in the last three seasons. Jordan Barnes was the hard-luck loser allowing just five hits and striking out eight while allowing just the one earned run. Dorothy King has two of the three hits for Lake Region, which finished the season at 26-3.
Class 8A
Catcher Kensie Green hit a dramatic walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Bartow Yellow Jackets a 5-2 win over the Countryside in the Class 8A State Championship game.
Ashton Owen started the rally by reaching on an error and went to second on Alex Mace’s sacrifice bunt.
One out later, Lexy Sims walked on four pitches to put runners on first and second with two out. Green worked the count to 3-2, before sending the next pitch over the left field wall for the game winner.
Denise Wright pitched five innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. Stella Preston worked all 10.2 innings for Countryside, allowing just two earned runs and just five hits.
Countryside has its chances in extra innings, putting runners in scoring positions in both the 10th and 11th innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the 11th .Bartow, 25-6, won its first championship under third-year head coach Donna Byars.
From day one, I knew this team was specialHead Coach Todd LaNeave said of his team that finished 30-1 on the season and won its final 24 games. “This is a very special group of young ladies that have a unique chemistry. Even when things would go against us on the field, the kids always knew they would make that defensive play, get a strikeout, or get that key hit to turn things around.”
And once again, the Warriors won with a combination of timely hitting, aggressive base running and outstanding pitching from junior Lauren Mathis. Mathis allowed just two hits and no runs in pitching a complete game. She struck out 15 and did not walk a batter. Alonso did not get a ball out of the infield until Laura Diaz’s single to left with two outs in the fifth.
The junior, who went to 25-1 on the season, struck out 26 and allowed just five hits in 14 innings of state tournament play. She was the winning pitcher in both games.
“Lauren never gets rattled,” LeNeave said. “She is so composed regardless of the situation. When she gives up a hit or two, her mindset is okay let’s just make the next pitch better than the last one. Her performance during the state tournament demonstrated it and it’s the same approach she has taken all year.”
“Obviously, you want to do well on the biggest stage,” Mathis said. “I never show a lot of emotion on the field, but I was nervous tonight -- particularly before the start of the game. Striking out the side in the first inning settled me down and I started to get ahead of the hitters. I think that made them a little anxious and they started chasing the rise ball out of the zone.”
Alonso, a surprise state qualifier after a lackluster 11-11 regular season, kept the game close. While Mathis was dominating by retiring the first 12 batters she faced, Ravens pitcher Jodi Handler and her defense were almost equally impressive.
Handler struck out three batters and saw her defense make three sensational plays in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Warriors failed to capitalize on three hits and a hit batsman in the first four frames.
Alonso had a slight chance to get at Mathis in the fifth. Jessica Louth reached on Sam Golden’s throwing error and two outs later Diaz lined her clean single to left. But Mathis struck out Kristin Kopp on a 3-2 fastball to end the inning.
West Orange would crack the Alonso defense in the fifth inning, plating three runs. With runners on second and third and two out, Lexi Blair lined a single to center to score Maggie Wheless and Haley Penrose.
“With two outs, I was just trying to stay back and make sure I made solid contact,” Blair said.
“Fortunately, I got a pitch down the center of the plate and was able to hit it hard up the middle.” Blair would then steal second and running on a 3-2 pitch scored from second when Alonso failed to complete the putout on Goldon’s strikeout. Catcher Madison Colitis dropped the third strike and her throw to first was too late to get Golden. On the play, Blair beat the relay home.
The Lady Warriors tacked on three more runs in the sixth as Wheless lined a hard single to center and Jade Carraway brought home two more runs with a bloop single. West Orange’s championship was the first softball title by a Central Florida public school since Lake Mary won in 1988. The Lady Warriors only loss of the season came to Class 6A State Champion
American Heritage, 1-0, back on Feb. 20.
See the entire FAB 50 National High School Rankings
The results of other championship play on Saturday…
Class 5A
Allison Muraskin scattered three hits and slammed a two-run double to lead Coral Springs Charter (26-3) to its second straight Florida state Class 5A state championship with a 9-2 win over Bayshore High.
Muraskin fired a complete game, allowing three hits, two runs with three walks to go with 14 strikeouts. Barb Vega also drove in a pair of runs for Coral Springs, which broke open a tight 2-1 game with a two spot in the top of the sixth before putting the game away with five more runs in the seventh.
Under head coach Mark Montimurro, the Lady Panthers have won 55 of their last 59 games. In addition to winning the back-to- back state titles, Montimurro also collected his fourth FHSAA title, winning back-to-back crowns in 2003-04 with Hollywood Christian.
Lashara James accounted for both of Bayshore’s runs with a pair of solo home runs.
Class 6A
Sydney Grobman and Jordyn Griffith combined to score and drive in three runs each to lead American Heritage High School (26-2) to its second Florida Class 6A State Championship in the last three years, beating Arnold High, 12-2. The game was shortened to five innings by the 10-run rule.
Grobman went two for four with a home run to back the complete game effort of Madison Canby, who allowed three hits and two runs to go with four walks and two strikeouts.
In addition to a second title in three years for Heritage, Panthers Head Coach Marty Cooper now has now led that Panthers to seven state titles and two state runner-up finishes in his 14 seasons as head coach.
CLASS 7A
As had been the case all season, it was the Katie Chronister show as Gainesville High School (31-2) defeated Lake Region High School, 1-0, to capture its first state championship under head coach Pete Mariano.
Chronister fired a complete game for the Hurricanes, scattering four hits while walking two and striking out nine. She was also the star at the plate, collecting three of Gainesville’s five hits and scoring the lone run of the game on Hallie Karas’ sacrifice fly in the fourth inning.
Lake Region ended up as state runner-ups for the second time in the last three seasons. Jordan Barnes was the hard-luck loser allowing just five hits and striking out eight while allowing just the one earned run. Dorothy King has two of the three hits for Lake Region, which finished the season at 26-3.
Class 8A
Catcher Kensie Green hit a dramatic walk-off three-run home run in the bottom of the 11th inning to give the Bartow Yellow Jackets a 5-2 win over the Countryside in the Class 8A State Championship game.
Ashton Owen started the rally by reaching on an error and went to second on Alex Mace’s sacrifice bunt.
One out later, Lexy Sims walked on four pitches to put runners on first and second with two out. Green worked the count to 3-2, before sending the next pitch over the left field wall for the game winner.
Denise Wright pitched five innings of scoreless relief to pick up the win. Stella Preston worked all 10.2 innings for Countryside, allowing just two earned runs and just five hits.
Countryside has its chances in extra innings, putting runners in scoring positions in both the 10th and 11th innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the 11th .Bartow, 25-6, won its first championship under third-year head coach Donna Byars.