SWFL High School Sports Report: Bishop Verot softball wins their 11th game in a row

WEDNESDAY

Softball

Bishop Verot 3, Lakewood Ranch 2: With clutch pitching, opportunistic bats and highlight reel plays on defense, it’s no secret why the Vikings are looking invincible.

In a battle of teams ranked in the top 30 of the FHSAA rankings, Verot held on for a 3-2 win against Lakewood Ranch on Wednesday night. After dropping their first two games of the season, the Vikings have since won 11 in a row.

“It’s a good win for us,” head coach Chris Gatewood said. “We’ve been playing some really good competition and Lakewood Ranch is no different.”

“We got a really young group over here, but they’re scrappy. That’s a big win for us. We’re pretty excited about this one.”

In seven innings, Verot pitcher Victoria Ash gave up five hits while striking out six batters with one walk. The Mustangs’ two runs came on an error.

Ash’s strikeout total, against a stacked Lakewood Ranch lineup, helped her break the Bishop Verot school record for career strikeouts. With 440 strikeouts in three seasons with the Vikings, Ash surpassed the previous record of 438.

“Once I got it, I was completely ecstatic,” she said. “It’s a really big deal.”

“Any time that kid’s in the circle, she’s going to keep us in the ball game,” Gatewood said of Ash.

Lillie Layne led the team with two hits, including an RBI single in the first inning, where the Vikings scored all three of their runs.

As the game tightened, the Verot defense made key plays with the glove of left fielder Jaelyn Riley proving particularly proficient. Fittingly, she recorded the game’s final out, which led to a giddy Vikings celebration.

“(Riley) made some spectacular plays out there, some plays that I think honestly were gamechangers out there for us,” Gatewood said.

By downing Lakewood Ranch, the team is continuing to prove themselves formable against fierce competition, which was the intention behind the Vikings' juggernaut schedule.

“It was really tough,” Ash said. “They have a lot of D-I and D-II commits on their team. They’re a really solid lineup from top to bottom. … Being able to keep them to only two runs is quite a feat.”

— Dustin Levy

Fort Myers 11, Immokalee 1: Fort Myers produced 11 hits as Alexa Bent, Sage Rodmyre, Julia Knowler, and Reece Harris each had multiple RBI. Kylee Vagle went the distance for the win, striking out nine and only walking 1.

North Fort Myers 4, Old Forge (Penn.) 0: Kaliyah Williams earned the win, allowing three hits and striking out seven in the win. She added a two-run double for all the scoring she would need.

Baseball

Marco Island 10, Mason Classical 0 (5 Inn.): Senior Zachary Ferro for Marco Island pitched a no-hitter, striking out 10 while allowing only one walk and a hit batter. Shamus Coyle, Ryan Sweeney, Chase Berry and Jack Berry had two hits each for the Rays.

TUESDAY

Baseball

Southwest Florida Christian 4, Seacrest 1: Eli Moore lasted 5.2 innings on the mound in the King's win, striking out eight and allowing one run while adding two hits to the winning effort. Cole Ingole notched his fourth three-run homer of the year for the King's, while Logan Waldrup added an RBI single and a run.

Mariner 8, Ida Baker 1: Nine of the ten Triton batters on the lineup card registered a hit in Mariner's win. DJ Dwire earned the win after allowing three hits and just one run in five innings while striking out seven.

Naples 2, Gulf Coast 0: Johnny King lasted six innings for the Golden Eagles, striking out ten while allowing just two hits and no runs. Nolan Bitter earned the save after striking out the final three batters in the seventh inning. Michael Graziano and Tucker Hansen collected two hits each for the Eagles.

Softball

North Fort Myers 1, Cypress Lake 0: Kendall Wylie struck out a career-high 16 batters in the win, allowing just two hits and no runs. Kaliyah William's single brought home Mia Lane for the lone North run. Sammi Rosado allowed four hits and one run while striking out seven for Cypress. Cassie Mitchell went 2-for-3 in the loss.

Fort Myers 13, Lehigh 2 (5 Inn.): Julia Knowler hit a grand-slam in the Green Wave win, while Kate Coakley went 3-for-4 with one run and one RBI. Alexa Bent earned the win in the circle after allowing four hits and two runs while striking out four in five innings pitched.

St. John Neumann 16, Seacrest 0 (4 inn.): The Celtics tallied a total of seven hits, including the game-winning double by Jaina Barth with with RBI.

Naples 13, Gulf Coast 8: The Golden Eagles soared to their third-straight win with Mackenzie Leitti leading the way at the plate. Lietti tallied two doubles and a single with four RBI. Kathryn Hanipsiak added two doubles and a single with three RBI, while Joslyn Baker and Isabella Carson added two RBI each. Tara Watkins struck out eight for the complete game win also adding a triple at the plate. Nelinka Lambcke had two hits and three RBI for the Sharks, while Emma Caetano had a two-run home run.

Boys Tennis

Gulf Coast 5, Community School of Naples 2: Hudson Fry, Alex Mazza, Paul Barrus, and Pable Viera all picked up Shark wins in Singles play, while freshman Shimon Levy earned a win in No. 5 Singles for the Seahawks. Ivan Kisic and Fry added a Shark win in No. 1 Doubles. Este Cadiou and Jacob Jaffe won in No. 2 Doubles for the Seahawks.

Mariner 5, Lehigh 2: Joshua Lopez won in No. 1 Doubles for the Lightning, and Damien Gleason added a win in No. 2 Singles for the Tritons. James Lacey and Lopez won in No. 1 Doubles for Lehigh.

Girls Tennis

Barron Collier 6, Estero 1: Singles: No. 1: Katie Ruci (BC) def Meghan Lay (E) 6-2, 6-0; No. 2: Gianella Salas Gechele (E) def Giulia Nelson (BC) 6-2, 6-2; No. 3: Madison Knoth (BC) def Kate Mackie (E) 6-0, 6-0; No. 4: MacKenzie Hilton(BC) def Sydney Ramsey (E) 6-0, 6-1; No. 5: Jasmin Blitzer (BC) def Catherine Uceta (E) 6-1, 6-1. Doubles: No. 1: Ruci/Nelson (BC) def Lay/Salas Gechele (E) 8-4; No. 2: Knoth/Hilton (BC) def Emily McDowell/Sofia Passas (E) 8-2.

North Fort Myers 3, Island Coast 1:

Singles: 1. Alexis Neumann (N) d. Yadira Escutia (IC) 6-0, 6-0; 2. Hannah Holmes (N) d. Sydney Rust (IC) 6-0, 6-0; 3. Delaney Souppa (N) d. Fernanda Medina Martinez 6-0. 6-2. Doubles: 1. Escutia/Rust (IC) d. Holmes/Bella Souto (N) 8-7 (10-8)

Girls Lacrosse

Palmetto Ridge 8, Riverdale 6: Alexa Swales tallied six goals in the Bears' win, while Ariana Ramos and Hayley Caron added one goal each.

MONDAY

Girls Tennis

Oasis 5, Canterbury 2: Freshman freshman Emily Feichthaler remained undefeated in singles play with a with her win in No. 3 singles (7-6, 6-1). Sophia Pollard picked up a win in No. 2 Singles (6-1, 6-1), while Cecilia Menedez added a win in No. 4 singles (6-1, 6-1). Sophia Abreu and Pollard won in No. 1 Doubles (8-4), while Feichthaler and Menedez won in No. 2 Doubles (8-2).

Barron Collier 7, Immokalee 0:

Singles: No. 1: Jasmin Blitzer (BC) def Evelyn Argueta (I) 8-0; No. 2: Camila Padilla (BC) def Nadia Hernandez (I) 8-0; No. 3: Reese Lundon (BC) def Karina Aguilar (I) 8-0; No. 4: Fabiana Chavez (BC) def Faustina Andres (I) 8-1; No. 5: Lily McManus (BC) def Cynthia Orozco (I) 8-0. Doubles: No. 1: Blitzer/Padilla (BC) def Argueta/Hernandez (I) 8-0; No. 2: Chavez/Danielle Soulliere (BC) def Aguilar/Andres 8-1

Boys Tennis

Canterbury 6, Oasis 1: Eric and Tyler Feichthaler were the lone winners for the Sharks in No. 1 Doubles.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: High School Sports Report: Tennis, Lacrosse, Baseball, and Softball scores