PREP ROUNDUP: Lakewood Ranch gets past Parrish Community, 4-3
PARRISH — There was a different feeling around the Lakewood Ranch High softball team the four days after losing back-to-back games to Lake Brantley High
“We were really just thinking that this isn’t Lakewood Ranch,” senior infielder Kelsey Vogel said. “This is not us. We were just working really hard on getting our mojo back.”
Vogel did her best to make that happen Tuesday night.
With Cassidy McLellan on third base with one out in a tie game in the top of the seventh inning, Vogel collected her fourth hit of the game, a run-producing single that plated the winning run in the Mustangs’ 4-3 victory over Parrish Community in front of a nice crowd at the Bulls field.
Lakewood Ranch coach T.J. Goelz sensed a different vibe after his team's two losses, but did not see his players wavering, especially at Monday’s practice.
“Unusual ... never lost two games (in a row) since I’ve been here,” Goelz said. “We played the same team twice, a quality team. They are one of the top teams in the state, no question. We still have to understand that piece of it.
“We had a really, really good practice Monday night. I didn’t see any holdovers or loss of we can’t still accomplish what we want to accomplish. That’s what I was looking for. I still saw the fire in their eyes. I still saw big dreams they want to do. They know our goal is to win the last game of the season. What happens between now and then we can still do that.”
Against a young, upstart Parrish Community team, the Mustangs (10-2) displayed some of that old swagger, especially after the Bulls put them to the test.
Lakewood Ranch, the defending Class 7A state champion, surrendered a 3-1 lead in the sixth inning, when previously unbeaten Parrish Community tied the game with two runs.
“The team didn’t give up,” Bulls coach Erin Spivey said. “They came back. They forced them to have to work. That shows growth in our program.”
In the seventh, McLellan beat out a grounder to second base, stole second and third and crossed on Vogel’s one-out hit to right.
“Basically, I was thinking I’ve been hitting off her all night. I’m on this,” Vogel said. “I was just sitting on the changeup. I was seeing them really well. I was seeing everything really good tonight.”
Ranked fourth in Florida and first in Class 3A by MaxPreps and sixth in the FHSAA power rankings, Parrish Community (11-1) had its top of the order up in the bottom of the seventh inning but Ella Dodge finished her outing in the circle by striking out the side.
“That’s what we wanted to see,” Goelz said. “We beat two teams there. We beat them and we beat the team that was trying not to lose. We can’t be a team that’s trying not to lose. Hopefully, we got rid of that team.”
After the makeup game with the Mustangs on Tuesday, the Bulls’ week of facing tough foes continues with a home game Wednesday against unbeaten Tampa Berkeley Prep and Thursday at Palmetto High.
“Really it was supposed to be Berkeley Prep and Palmetto,” Spivey said. “But I’d rather have that and prepare them for the playoffs. This is like a playoff week for us. There’s winning and learning and we learned.”
Ranked third in the country, second in Florida and first in Class 7A by MaxPreps and fourth in the FHSAA power rankings, Lakewood Ranch returns Thursday with a home game against Land O’Lakes.
Lakewood Ranch takeaways
• McLellan hustling down the line to beat out a ground ball to second keyed the Mustangs' rally. “If she has an ounce of selfishness and slows down she doesn’t beat that out,” Goelz said. “Once she gets on first I knew it was a double. And the way Kelsey Vogel was swinging the bat against a very quality pitcher, I liked our chances. I’m proud of them, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”
• The Mustangs scored three runs in the first two innings on an RBI single by Vogel and two-run single by McLellan, who finished with three stolen bases. We’ve got to get the momentum going again, the bats going again,” Goelz said. “Going into (spring) break we were crushing it. Now we’ve seen good pitching three games in a row. It’s going to give us a little bit of time to get those bats going.”
• Dodge allowed eight hits and three runs with seven strikeouts, none bigger than her final three. “Ella Dodge was money tonight,” Goelz said. “Her best inning was her last inning. That’s important. The fourth time through the lineup and you’re facing 1, 2 and 3. And strikeout the side after they had some momentum going, that’s the sign of a big-game pitcher.”
Parrish Community takeaways
• Errors in each of the first two innings led to Lakewood Ranch’s first three runs. “The reality is we can’t give up three or four errors,” Spivey said. “That killed us.”
• Isabella Vega was equally effective as Dodge in the circle. The junior right-hander gave up nine hits and struck out 12 without issuing a walk. “Isa did great,” Spivey said. “She did everything she was supposed to do. The defense just let us down. A lot of strikeouts and what they did hit were playable outs that we just didn’t capitalize on.”
• Seven hitters in the Parrish Community lineup collected hits, including two by junior Ella Torres and sophomore Ella Romano. “We worked on hitting changeups and rise balls,” said Spivey, who does not have a senior on her roster. “We worked hard on that stuff and the kids didn’t give up. They came through.”
Venice 13, DeSoto County 0
AT: DeSoto County High, Arcadia.
TOP PLAYERS: V, Micaela Hartman (4-4, 2 2B, HR, 5RBI, 4R), Ralonna Smith (3-3, 2B, 2RBI), Taylor Halback (2-4, 3R, 3RBI).
PITCHING: V, Karsyn Rutherford (4IP, 1H, 1BB, 5K), Layne Preece (2IP, 5K).
Southeast 18, Booker 3 (4 inns.)
AT: Southeast High, Bradenton.
TOP PLAYERS: S, Christal Quinones (3 runs), Madison Palso (3 runs), Kaela Pangman (3 runs).
RECORDS: Southeast (5-2); Booker (0-8)
NEXT: Southeast at DeSoto, 6:30 p.m., today.
Sarasota 12, Manatee 2
TOP PLAYERS: S, Ryleigh Bennett (2 hits), Rylee Miller (2 hits), Christina Bowser (2 hits), Carley Ramsden (2 hits), Addisyn Schweid (2 hits).
PITCHING: S, Ryleigh Bennett (6IP, 5H, 2R, BB, 5K).
OF NOTE: Sarasota scored six runs in the second inning to break the game open.
BASEBALL
Sarasota 10, Manatee 0 (5 inns.)
TOP PLAYERS: S, Mike Bendever (3-3, 2 2B), Lance Trippel (2-4, 2 2B, 5RBI), Bradley Ramsden (2-2, 2RBI); M, Trevor Viera (3B).
PITCHING: S, Luke Jackson (5 IP, 1H).
RECORD: Sarasota (9-4).
NEXT: Palmetto at Sarasota, 7 p.m. today.
Venice 10, Life Prep Fire 1
IMG National Classic
AT: IMG Academy, Bradenton.
TOP PLAYERS: V, John Whitney (1-3, 2RBI), Dasavion Cassaway (3-3, 2R, 2RBI).
PITCHING: SC, Nick Winterhalter (3IP, 5H, 1R, 4K), Schapley (2IP, 3K).
Riverview 12, North Cobb Christian 2
IMG National Classic
AT: IMG Academy, Bradenton.
TOP PLAYERS: R, Dylan Wilds (3-4, 4 RBI, R), Chris Barr (2-3, 2R, RBI), Pip Smalley (2-4, 2B, 3RBI), Cooper Bowditch (2-3, 2B, HR, R, 2RBI). Cesar Silva (2-3, 2B, R), Cooper Backman (1-2, 2 runs, RBI).
PITCHING: R, Pip Smalley (5IP, 3H, 2R-0ER, 2BB, 6K).
Sarasota Christian 13,
Admiral Farragut 2
AT: Admiral Farragut, St. Petersburg.
TOP PLAYERS: SC, Ben Papineau (3 hits, RBI, 3SB), Alex Hefti (3 hits, 4RBI), Randall Collins (2 hits, RBI, 2SB).
PITCHING: SC, Ben Papineau (WP, 4IP, 7K), Randall Collins (IP, 2K), Alex Hefti (IP, 3 K).
RECORDS: Sarasota Christian (7-2); Admiral Farragut (0-8).
NEXT: SALT Tampa at Sarasota Christian, 5 p.m., Tuesday.
Bayshore 14, St. Pete Gibbs 4
AT: Gibbs High, St. Petersburg.
TOP PLAYERS: B, Jayro Leon (4-5, 6RBI, 3R), Victor Jaimes (3-4, 3R), Rylan Huffstutler (3-4, 2RBI, SB).
PITCHING: B, James O'Kelley (6IP, 1ER, 2BB, 11 KS).
OF NOTE: Jaimes threw out two runners attempting to steal
RECORDS: Bayshore (3-5); Gibbs (0-5).
NEXT: Sarasota Christian at Bayshore, 4 p.m. Friday.
BOYS TENNIS
Lemon Bay 7, Port Charlotte 0
AT: Lemon Bay High, Englewood.
SINGLES — Hunter Andres (LB) def. Nathan Reid 6-0, 6-0; Billy Rand (LB) def. Colin Larkin 6-1, 6-0; Gray Lowder (LB) def. Jacob Howe 6-1, 6-0; Caleb Hutcherson (LB) def. Avery Gauthier 6-4, 6-0; Logan McGinty (LB) def. Roger Lane 6-0, 6-0.
DOUBLES — Andres / Rand (LB) def. Reid / Larkin (PC) 8-0; Lowder / Hutcherson (LB) def. Gauthier / Howe (PC) 8-1
RECORD: Lemon Bay (10-0).
GIRLS TENNIS
Charlotte 5, North Port 2
SINGLES — Mila Djrich (NP) def. Sophia Bender 8-5; Halayna Roberson (C) def. Keira Smith 8-2; Autumn Gier (NP) def. Kendall Carrico 8-3; Sophia Clancey (C) def. Taylor Rand 8-1; Kaelyn Carrico (C) def. Jada Haynes 8-4.
DOUBLES – Bender / Roberson (C) def. Djrich / Smith 8-6; Carrico / Clancey (C) def. Gier / Haynes 8-2.
Lemon Bay 7, Hardee County 0
AT: Lemon Bay High, Englewood.
SINGLES — Jordan Shirley (LB) def. Maddie Schraeder 6-0, 6-2; Marie L’Abbe (LB) def. Emma Hays 6-1, 6-2; Rosey Lowder (LB) def. Anna Melendy 6-1, 6-0; Avery Shirley (LB) def. Drew Beattie 6-0, 6-0; Alaina Maday (LB) def. Jensey Hays 8-6.
DOUBLES – J. Shirley / L’Abbe (LB) def. Schraeder / Melendy (H) 8-3; Lowder / A. Shirley (LB) def. E. Hays / J. Hays (H) 8-4.
RECORDS: Lemon Bay (11-1); Hardee (7-3).
GIRLS LACROSSE
Manatee 16, Riverview 11
TOP PLAYERS: M, Penelope May (6 goals, assist, cause turnover), Grace Knowles (4 goals, cause turnover, 3 ground balls), Luana Engel (2 goals, ground ball, 8 draw wins); R, Susan Lowher (6 goals, 8 draw controls, 3 ground balls, caused turnover), Caroline Steinwachs (2 goals, 6 draw controls, 3 ground balls, caused turnover).
GOALIE: R, Mia Rey (11 saves, 41%).
RECORD: Manatee (8-3).
OF NOTE: Penelope May scored her 100th goal.
NEXT: Manatee at Sarasota, 6 p.m., Tuesday; Gulf Coast at Riverview, 6 p.m. Monday
Cardinal Mooney 21, Canterbury 11
AT: Cardinal Mooney Catholic School, Sarasota.
TOP PLAYERS: CM, Lindsay Kuo (6 goals, 3 assists, 4 draw controls, 2 interceptions, ground balls); Morgan Martin (5 goals, 6 ground balls, forced turnover), Morgan Costallos (2 goals, 4 assists, 7 gbs, interception, 9 draw controls, forced turnover), Darling Bergstrom (2 goals, 2 assists, forced turnover, 4 gbs, interception, 7 draw controls), Maddie Landers (2 goals, assist, 6 gbs), Ally Frank (2 goals, 2 gbs, 2 interceptions, draw control), Taylor Daly (goal, 3 gbs, interception, 3 draw controls)
GOALIE: CM, Lily Vanderpol (5 saves, 31%)
RECORD: Cardinal Mooney (4-7).
NEXT: Cardinal Mooney at Tampa Catholic, 7 p.m., today.
Dennis Maffezzoli is the deputy sports editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and chief reporter for Sarasota Herald-Tribune and HTpreps covering Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: PREP ROUNDUP: Lakewood Ranch gets past Parrish Community, 4-3
