Unbeaten Orange City University leads pack

UCF commit Aminah Vega and junior pitcher Grace Taylor have been exceptional during the first half of the softball season for Orange City University.

Both have grown into leadership roles for a well-rounded team that entered spring break with an undefeated record.

“There’s probably six or seven of them that have been playing together for 10 years,” University coach Kenny Walters said. “They don’t care where they hit [in the lineup] or where they play [in the field], they basically play for each other and they want to see the team do well. That’s been a big thing for us.”

Vega, a junior who opened the spring with hits in nine straight games, is batting 17-for27 (.630) with 21 runs scored, 16 RBIs and six home runs. Taylor has struck out 76 batters through 49 innings and carries a 1.00 earned run average.

University (10-0) ranks No. 5 overall and No. 3 in Class 7A behind Orange Park Oakleaf (9-1) and Bradenton Lakewood Ranch (11-1) in the first batch of weekly FHSAA power rankings. The rankings will be used to determine seeding for district tournaments next month.

Lake Brantley (9-2) sits at No. 7 in 7A after losing 5-3 Tuesday night at home against Lake Mary. Five other Orlando area teams rank among the Top 20 in the state’s largest classification. That group includes No. 12 Winter Park (4-0), No. 13 Oviedo (9-3), No. 14 Clermont East Ridge (9-4), No. 16 Apopka (10-2) and No. 17 Lake Nona (7-1).

University opened the season with a 3-2 win over Lake Brantley Feb. 16. The Titans return to play as part of the annual Kissimmee Klassic tournament next week. Challenging road games over the final weeks of the season come against Winter Springs (April 6), Lake Mary (April 13) and Oviedo (April 19).

Winter Springs (6-2) ranks No. 8 in 6A under first-year head coach Farrah Gordon, a former UCF player. Senior Taylor Krapf is batting 11-for-16 (.688) with five extra-base hits. The Bears entered Wednesday’s game at Lyman (6-5) on a four-game win streak since suffering back-toback setbacks against Oviedo and Apopka.

Eustis (7-1) ranks No. 3 and Bishop Moore (11-2) ranks No. 5 in Class 4A.

The Panthers, who lost 5-4 at Winter Springs two weeks ago, are batting .398 as a team and allowing less than one run per game. Freshman Jensen Luke has 17 RBIs on just 12 hits, which includes three doubles, one triple and two home runs.

Bishop Moore’s Olivia Miller opened the season with a no-hitter against Mount Dora while striking out 16 batters Feb. 16.

In Class 2A, Mount Dora Christian (5-6) ranks No. 12 and Faith Christian (4-0) ranks No. 13, followed by No. 16 Orlando Christian Prep (7-3) and No. 18 Deltona Trinity Christian (6-3).