St. Cloud powers into rankings

Not much has gone wrong for St. Cloud on the softball field this season.

Led by four seniors and three freshman in the starting lineup, the Bulldogs have gotten contributions from all corners of the diamond while hitting .358 as a team and allowing just six earned runs thus far.

St. Cloud, ranked No. 6 in the Sentinel Super Six rankings, will enter next week’s prestigious Kissimmee Klassic as the top seed in the tournament’s 16-team Gold Bracket.

“There’s a lot of great balance and senior leadership on the team, and a lot of the young girls are buying into the program and what we’re about,” St. Cloud coach Ray Whobrey said. “The chemistry of this team is unbelievable.”

After losing in the second round of the playoffs in each of the past two seasons, Whobrey turned to former St. Cloud coach Mike Clark to work with pitchers and catchers. Clark took the Bulldogs to the state final four in 1998.

Senior Skylar Whobrey has benefited as she’s blossomed in the circle a year after being half of a two-pitcher rotation. Whobrey entered the week at 11-0 with 75 strikeouts and a 0.25 earned run average through 56 innings while primarily working the screwball and curveball.

Run support has been aplenty for the Bulldogs as senior Emily Henderson and junior Briana Rodriguez have stood out as slap-hitters at the top of the lineup. They have combined for 27 stolen bases.

While Henderson leads the team with a .514 batting average (18-for-35), it’s been sophomore catcher Ariana Manzanaras garnering rave reviews as the biggest surprise of the season. She’s hitting .500 (18-for-36) with 25 RBI and eight hits for extra bases.

“What’s been nice with [Manzanaras] is if I have both Bri and Emily on the bases, it’s almost a guarantee she’s going to knock a double and score them both,” Whobrey said. “She’s been on fire and has been playing like a senior with her leadership and the whole thing.”

Most area teams get back to regular season play this week after some took part in spring break tournaments.

No. 2 West Orange won the Montverde Academy Invitational Softball Tournament with a 6-3 win over Bishop Moore. Pitcher Lauren Mathis and catcher Maggie Wheless were named most valuable players.

Winter Springs appears to be rounding into form after winning four games at Bartow’s Rutenbar Classic. The Bears host Seminole on Wednesday then travel to Lake Howell on Friday. Both games start at 7 p.m.

Port Orange Spruce Creek fell from the Super Six after placing third as hosts of the Battle at the Beach. 1. Timber Creek (11-1) 2. West Orange (13-2) 3. Orange City University (12-5) 4. Deltona (11-2) 5. Eustis (10-1) 6. (NR) St. Cloud (11-1)

Hagerty, Lake Howell, Winter Springs, Port Orange Spruce Creek, Bishop Moore, Seminole.