SWFL HS Roundup for March 6-11: Canterbury completes comeback in Private 8 Championship

FRIDAY

Baseball

Canterbury 5, St. John Neumann 4: The Cougars (7-0) completed a comeback victory in the Private 8 championship over the Celtics (4-4) after trailing for most of the contest.

“I saw resilience,” said Canterbury head coach Frank Turco. “They didn’t stop fighting.”

Canterbury came into the contest with most of their top slingers unavailable. Stepping up to secure the win was freshman Anthony Meady. In his first varsity appearance on the mound, Meady pitched the final four innings. He spun three strikeouts while allowing no hits, runs, or walks.

“He’s never thrown an inning in varsity in his life,” Turco said. “We didn’t have a lot of choices, so we just rolled with it and said ‘here’s your chance.’ Sometimes you get a chance and make the most of it, so that’s pretty cool for him.”

St. John Neumann started the game off strong, scoring two runs from UCF signee Carter White and Florida State commit Alex Kuenzle, who both singled to get on base.

After a scoreless second inning, White brought Kuenzle in on a double before Logan Baratta’s single brought White home and extended the Celtic lead to 4-0 in the top of the third.

White finished 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Kuenzle went 1-for-3 from leadoff with two runs.

“We came out a little flat, we didn’t do some things, and they capitalized on it,” Turco said. “[Charlie Maurer] is a great coach and he’s always had a great program so they capitalized on some things we didn’t do mentally.”

Miami commit Evan Taveras brought the Cougars within reach with his three-run bomb in the bottom of the third inning. Taveras was invaluable in the win, going 3-for-3 with one homer and one double with three RBI and one run.

“Honestly, everything just started to click again,” Taveras said. “You know, I’m getting that feel again and getting locked in again.”

Canterbury tied things up in the bottom of the fifth when Austin Schrowe hit a deep fly-ball to left field. A bad Celtic throw saw Schrowe advance to second and Garrett McManus score the tying run.

After two groundouts and a strikeout from the Celtics in the sixth, AJ Finco hit a picture-perfect line drive for the Cougars that rode the left foul-line all the way to the fence, where it rolled under an opening in a gate.

“We shot ourselves in the foot,” said Celtics head coach Charlie ‘Squeeze’ Maurer. “Kudos to them. Turco is one of the best coaches in town, and he gets his guys to compete. They never gave up, they never laid down, and that's a typical Canterbury team. You’ve got to beat them, they’re not going to beat themselves.”

The ground-rule double brought Brayden Habuda in for the game-winning run. The Cougar defense came up with a groundout, a lineout, and a strikeout in the final frame to secure the win and remain undefeated.

“I feel like this really puts us on a good path,” Taveras said. “Coming off a big win over Bishop Verot, we brought the energy back. We rallied back from the little hiccups we had in the first couple innings and yeah, that was it.”

— Nick Wilson

North Fort Myers 14, Mariner 8 (8 inn.): The Red Knights scored eight runs in the eighth inning to secure the win. Garry Kamphouse led the bats for North Fort Myers, going 4-for-6 with four runs and two RBI. Matthew Blasena went 3-for-6 with one run and five RBI for the Red Knights. Harrison Kabel earned the win on the mound after allowing five hits and two runs while striking out nine and walking six in his four innings pitched. Sam Guth led the Tritons at the plate, going 5-for-6 with four runs and one RBI in the loss.

Southwest Florida Christian 11, Community School of Naples 1 (5 inn.): Cole Ingole earned the win on the mound in five innings pitched, allowing just one run while tallying nine strikeouts. Will Higby went 2-for-2 in the win with two RBI. Logan Waldrup went 2-for-2 with three runs, while Ingole went 1-for-3 with two RBI.

Gulf Coast 7, Riverdale 5 (9 inn.): Michael Farina led the Sharks' bats after going 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI in the extra inning win. Ryder Woodson earned the win on the mound after giving up no hits and two runs while striking out ten in four innings pitched. Zach Johnson and Matthew English both homered for the Raiders in the loss. English went 3-for-5 with one run and three RBI, while Johnson finished 4-for-6 with two runs and one RBI.

Softball

North Fort Myers 10, Mariner 5: Kendall Wylie picked up the win in the circle, lasting four innings while allowing four hits and two runs while striking out six. Wylie added a two run homer to the winning effort. Abigail Hynes, Mia Lane, Desirae Devine, and Kaliyah Williams, and Wylie all tallied multiple hits in the win.

Girls Lacrosse

Bishop Verot 12, Estero 4

THURSDAY

Softball

PRIVATE 8 TOURNAMENT

Bishop Verot 2, ECS 1 (9 innings): Two of the top programs in Southwest Florida duked it out in a pressure-filled battle for the Private 8 championship.

In the end, it was the Vikings who triumphed, coming through with clutch plays in the tensest moments.

The Sentinels had the bases loaded with no outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Verot ace Victoria Ash and the Viking defense calmly executed, getting a strikeout and two pop-outs to stay alive and force extra innings.

In the ninth, senior Camryn Feast came up big, launching a homer over the fence for Verot’s go-ahead run.

“Right now I’m just trying to catch my breath,” Bishop Verot head coach Chris Gatewood said. “You don’t do a lot of breathing in a game like that.”

Ash and ECS pitcher Zoe Yzaguirre took center stage in the contest, with both giving batters few opportunities.

“We knew coming here, it was going to be a dogfight,” Gatewood said. “Obviously, they have a great coach and a great squad over there. Zoe pitched a really good game, kept them in it and same with ours with Victoria. We knew it was going to come down to one or two runs there, and we were just fortunate to be on the winning end of it.”

Yzaguirre gave up five hits, two earned runs and no walks while striking out 13. Ash struck out four batters, walked two and crucially gave up just four hits and one earned run.

“Zoe is a great pitcher,” Ash said. “Like, hat’s off to her. She did a great job in the circle, but our team is so close that we refused to die down.”

Yzaguirre held the Vikings hitless through five innings. The Sentinels got on the board in the bottom of the third when Kylie Shaw drove in a run on a groundout.

“They were getting frustrated early because Zoe was locating really well, keeping the ball low,” Gatewood said.

The Vikings broke the game open in the fifth inning when Lillie Layne went yard to tie it up. Layne also hit a double in the game to lead the team with two hits.

“We’re the type of team that doesn’t get down,” Verot freshman Gianni Torres said. “We just keep our heads up.”

That was never more apparent than when the Vikings were one errant throw or dropped ball away from a loss in the seventh inning. ECS’s Candice Chime hit a double, Keaunna Green reached on an error and Sam Yzaguirre singled on a bunt to load the bases, giving the Sentinels an excellent opportunity for a walkoff.

However, the Vikings never relented. And Ash, a senior, tapped into her experience to get out of the jam.

“That kid just has ice in her veins,” Gatewood said. “There’s not too much stuff that rattles her.”

“We just focus on the task at hand,” Ash added. “We don’t try to get caught up in the big stuff and things like that. I felt like that really showed, especially when the pressure got tough. It was just batter after batter, play after play.”

Two innings later, Feast was first up for the Vikings and swung hard at the second pitch, launching it over center field for the lead.

“I wasn’t surprised at all because that’s just Cam,” Ash said. “Cam is clutch. Yeah, that’s what she does. I just felt so happy for her. She was due."

For Gatewood, whether they won or lost, a game like this brings the Vikings closer to where they will need to be in May.

“We have a really tough schedule for a reason,” he said. “What we want to do is we want to challenge these girls. We want to play teams like this. We want to play teams with great pitching.

“It’s game like these that build character and build team and camaraderie and just make us better in the end.”

Still, it never hurts to vanquish a rival.

“This has always been a big rivalry, and there’s been a lot of talk about our team, about their team, and it felt really good to come out with a win and beat them,” Ash said.

– Dustin Levy

St. John Neumann 3, Southwest Florida Christian 2: Sophia Escobar slung a no-hitter in her seven innings in the circle, securing a third place finish in the Private 8 tournament. Hanna Ramundo tallied two RBI with her double and triple. Escobar had two hits in the win, and Asha Dickerson added one. LC Hanypsiak added an RBI to the winning effort. Vivian Stark went 1-for-3 for the King's with one run.

OTHER GAMES

North Fort Myers 6, North Port 4: Abby Hynes' two-run homer in the first inning helped the Red Knights to their fifth straight win. Mia Lane went 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and two RBI. Kendall Wylie earned the win in seven innings pitched, allowing six hits and one run with ten strikeouts.

DeSoto County 9, Oasis 2: The Sharks tallied eight hits as a team, led by Alaina Shugars, who went 3-for-4. Eva Selfridge gave up ten hits and eight runs while striking out three in the loss.

Gulf Coast 3, Lely 2: Taylor Stalling earned the win in the circle for the Sharks in seven innings pitched.

Palmetto Ridge 5, Naples 4

Baseball

Gulf Coast 9, North Fort Myers 4: Ryder Woodson and Michael Peterson both went 2-for-3 for the Sharks with one run each, while Woodson added two RBI. Michael Farina earned the win on the mound in four innings pitched with seven strikeouts and four walks while allowing three hits and three runs.

Fort Myers 8, Estero 6: Bryce Ware and Justin Christensen each drove in two runs for the Green Wave while Owen Kircher scored three times. Evan Vellano and Brady O'Lone drive in two each for the Wildcats.

Boys Tennis

Oasis 6, North Port 1: Eric Feichthaler, John Vezzola ,Tyler Feichthaler, Liam Greco, and Kevin Kass picked up wins in Singles play for the Sharks. John Vezzola and Liam Greco added a win in No. 2 Doubles.

Cape Coral 7, Bonita Springs 0: Singles: No. 1: Ty Lendino (CC) def. Veer Gupta 6-2 4-6 10-4; No. 2: 2 Franklin Lewandowski (CC) def. Jacobi Weinberg (BS) 6-3 6-0; No. 3: Marco Guba (CC) def. Mason Burks (BS) 6-4 6-3; No. 4: Eduardo Figueroa (CC) def. Nick Koeth (BS) 6-0 6-1; No. 5: 5 Sergio Lara (CC) def. Lucas Perkins (BS) 6-0 6-2. Doubles: No. 1: Lendino/Lewandowski (CC) def.  Gupta/Weinberg (BS) 8-4; No. 2: Maverick Bailey/Eric Varlam (CC) def.  Burks/Koeth (BS) 8-5.

Girls Tennis

Oasis 6, North Port 1: Freshman Emily Feichthaler remained undefeated in singles play with a victory in the No. 3 singles while Cecilia Menedez earned a (6-1, 6-1) win in No. 4 singles. Sophia Pollard took the No. 2 singles in straight sets (6-2, 6-3)

Barron Collier 4, Gulf Coast 3: Singles: 1s- Katie Ruci (BC) def Mia Martin (GC) 6-0, 6-1; 2S- Marchela Rykowski (GC) def Lexi Pouliaevski (BC) 6-0, 6-0; 3S- Sia Dihenia (GC) def Giulia Nelson (BC) 4-6, 6-2, 1-0; 4S- Madison Knoth (BC) def Ava Rochford (GC) 6-0, 6-0; 5S- MacKenzie Hilton (BC) def Jamille Jordon (GC) 6-0, 3-6,1-0. Doubles: Ruci/Pouliaevski (BC) def Martin/Rochford (GC) 8-4; 2D- Rykowski/Harmony Nix (GC) def Nelson/Knoth (BC) 8-3

Boys Track

Gulf Coast finished fifth in the North Port Invitational behind William Montanye's (1:58.89) first place finish in the 800m. The Sharks' 4x8 team added a win with a new school record time of 8:12.

Beach Volleyball

Fort Myers 3, Ida Baker 0

WEDNESDAY

Softball

Fort Myers 13, Gulf Coast 1: Julia Knowler drove in three runs in the Green Wave win. Ten Fort Myers batters notched a hit, with Tegan Webb, Kate Coakley, and Sage Rodmyer all registering multiple hits in the winning effort. Kylee Vagle won in the circle, surrendering just one run on two base hits.

Boys Lacrosse

Barron Collier 10, Naples 3: Carsen Crowley tallied five goals for the Cougars in their CCAC semifinal win. Alex Wilson scored two goals, while Rocco LaTour, Christian Toth, and Nate Jandovitz all tacked on one goal each. Collin Quinsey had 10 saves for Barron Collier.

Gulf Coast 16, Immokalee 0

Boys Tennis

Oasis 6, LaBelle 0: Eric Feichthaler, John Vezzola,Tyler Feichthaler, and Kevin Kass all won their respective Singles and Doubles matches. Kevin Kass had a strong showing in the match, winning 6-1, 6-0 in Singles and teamed with John Vezzolla to win 8-0 in No. 2 Doubles.

TUESDAY

Baseball

North Fort Myers 8, Mariner 3: Matthew Blasena had two hits with 2 RBI and 2 runs for North. Logan Divet started and went four innings, allowing one run on 5 hits, and Harrison Kabel closed out the game with two shutout innings with 5 strikeouts. Sam Guth and Landon Johnston each had two hits and scored a run for Mariner.

PRIVATE 8 TOURNAMENT

Canterbury 4, Bishop Verot 3: Jason Bello had three hits and drove in two for the Vikings.

St. John Neumann 14, Seacrest 0

Championship on Friday: St. John Neumann at Canterbury

SFCA 13, FBA 3: Cole Ingole went 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double, 4 RBI, 3 runs and a stolen base. Jake Trottier added a double and a triple with an RBI and 3 runs. Logan Waldrup pitched two shutout innings with 5 strikeouts and added two hits with 2 RBI and 2 runs for the King's (6-2).

CSN def. ECS

Softball

North Fort Myers 6, Mariner 0: Azlynn Gomes hit a triple with bases loaded in the third inning, driving in three and Kendall Wylie pitched a one-hit, 7 inning shutout with 12 strikeouts.  Audrey Florenzano, Abby Hynes and Mia Pecore had two hits each in the win.

PRIVATE 8 TOURNAMENT

ECS 16, Neumann 0

Bishop Verot 15, SFCA 0

Championship Thursday at 4 p.m.: Bishop Verot at ECS

Boys Tennis

Mariner 6, East 1: Karl Schlott, Kieren Kirkmilis, Noah Riascos, Damien Gleason, and Robert Preston all picked up Triton wins in singles play. Christian Zapata and Kirkmilis won in No. 1 doubles, while The Jaguars won in No. 2 doubles.

Girls Tennis

Cypress Lake 7, Island Coast 0: Caroline Solomon and Brigitte Maillakakis both won 6-0, 6-0 for the Panthers.

Estero 4, North Fort Myers 3:

Singles: 1. Alexis Neumann (N) d. Meghan Lay 6-1, 6-4; 2. Gia Salas Gechele (E) d. Mikayla Mann 6-2, 6-1; 3. Kate Mackie (E) . Hannah Holmes 6-1, 6-4; 4. Maria Lakes (N) d. Sofia Passos 6-4, 5-7, 10-8; 5. Emily McDowell (E) d. Olivia Myers 6-1, 6-0.

Doubles: 1. Lay/Salas Gechele (E) d. Neumann/Mann 8-3; 2. Holmes/Delaney Souppa d. Catherine Uceta/Sydney Ramsey 9-7.

MONDAY

Softball

Palmetto Ridge 5, Lely 4: Haley Springs hit a walk-off triple for the Bears to secure the win. Palmetto Ridge tallied 10 hits with Paige Saco, Jennifer Drake, and Leyah Rodriguez each having multiple. Destiny Cole earned the win for the Bears after she allowed three hits and two runs with six strikeouts in 3.3 innings. Brooke Bledsoe was in the circle for the Trojans and allowed five runs on 10 hits with 13 strikeouts in six innings pitched.

Barron Collier 5, Immokalee 1: Reese Gill earned the win for the Cougars, allowing three hits and one run. Of the 29 batters she faced, she walked four and struck out 11. Gabby Rascher recorded a three-RBI double in the fourth inning, while Jordyn Kinn tallied three stolen bases.

PRIVATE 8 TOURNAMENT

St. John Neumann 16, Community School of Naples 0: Sophia Escobar pitched a perfect game for the Celtics in the first round of the Private 8 Tournament. LC Hanypsiak, Annika Nerney, and Escobar all tallied two hits each. Escobar had a triple with two RBI, and Nerney added four RBI.

SFCA 15, Seacrest 6

Baseball

PRIVATE 8 TOURNAMENT

St. John Neumann 10, SFCA 1: Lawson Pohill went 2-for-3 with an RBI for the King's. Jake Trottier added two hits for the King's, while Eli Moore gave up just one hit and two runs with five strikeouts in 4.1 innings pitched.

Bishop Verot 9, ECS 3: Maddix Simpson had two hits and four RBI for the Vikings. Jason Bello had three hits and scored three times and pitched the final six innings, allowing one unearned run and only one hit.

Canterbury 11, CSN 1: Gavin Howe had two runs and two RBI from his lead-off spot for the Cougars. Kevin Gonzalez pitched four shutout innings with seven strikeouts for the win.

Seacrest 16, FBA 1

Boys Lacrosse

Barron Collier 17, Golden Gate 0: Alex Wilson, Carsen Crowley, Nate Jandovitz and Skylar Patterson led the Cougars with two goals each. Preston Colo, Dylan Felts, and Lance Blake scored their first goals of the season in the win.

Immokalee 14, Lely 2: Jesus Martinez led the Indians with four goals, while Juan Vasquez added three goals. Ivan Jimenez, Max Sosa, and Marvin Museau tacked on two goals each, while Ryan Mendoza scored one goal.

Girls Lacrosse

Barron Collier 22, Palmetto Ridge 2: Alexa Swales scored both goals for the Bears in the loss.

Bishop Verot 12, Cardinal Mooney 11

Beach Volleyball

Estero 5, Ida Baker 0: The Wildcats improve to 2-0 on the season, led by new No. 1 duo Katelyn Carroll/Ashlynn Ban 21-7, 21-5 and No. 2 pair Sophie Perkins/Gia Rosencrans 21-6, 21-7.

Boys Tennis

Community School of Naples 6, Oasis 1: John Vezzola and Liam Greco won for the Sharks in No. 2 Doubles, winning 8-7 and 7-3 in the tiebreaker.

Girls Tennis

The Village School 7, Marco Island 0: Cara Hartfield, Caroline Hayes, and Katherine Garner all added wins in singles play. Hayes and Hartfield won in No. 1 doubles, while Sophia McKoen and Gia Frere won in No. 2 doubles.

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