Western, Park Vista upended in semis

Western and Park Vista came up short on Friday in their bids to play for the Class 7A state softball championship at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont.

Defending champion Lakewood Ranch (29-2), the top-seeded team in Class 7A and ranked ninth in the nation with 20 straight wins, broke open a tight game in the bottom of the fourth with two home runs, including a grand slam to defeat Western 11-3, while Park Vista gave up three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to fall in its state semifinal to Lake Brantley.

Western (16-9-1) entered the game with a modest three-game win streak, yet it was peaking at the right time as they defeated Goleman, 10-1, West Broward, 4-1 and blanked Miami Palmetto, 3-0 to surprisingly advance to its second state final four in four years. The Wildcats, ranked No. 13 in the state this season, won the state championship in 2018.

“I told the girls to learn from it,” said Western first-year coach Johnny Bradshaw by phone. “They (Lakewood Ranch) are a great team. I am just as proud of these girls now as I was when we won the state championship. They are very young and I think they accomplished more to get here than the 2018 team.

“We had to overcome a lot more,” he continued. “When we first started conditioning, if you asked them if they would be in the state final four, no one would have believed it, except me.. They bought in and believed. I am super proud of them. When they have time reflect, they will realize what it took to get here. We’ll be back.”.

Lakewood Ranch took a 1-0 lead in the first off an RBI single by Kelsey Vogel who drove in Cassidy McLellan who had tripled. The Mustangs extended the lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the second on an error, sacrifice fly, and an RBI triple by Grace Hogie.

Western rallied to close to within 5-3 in the top of the fourth when Alana Cypress reached on an error scoring Sarah Rosenthal for the Wildcats’ first run of the game. Avery Olsen delivered an RBI single to make it 5-2 and Melanie Carr followed with a line drive RBI single to left to score Emma Mosher.

Lakewood Ranch then broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth on a home run by Addyson Bruneman and then a grand slam by Ella Coiner to center field. It was just her second home run of the season. The teams then waited out a two-hour lightning delay before the Mustangs added a run in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI double by Taylor Shephard.

“Those home runs took the air out of us,” said Bradshaw, who in his first year as head coach after being an assistant on the 2018 state champion team and this year’s squad. “We had just gotten back into the game and they were about to change pitchers, but when they got the runs, they left her in.”

Park Vista (22-6) led the entire game until the Patriots rallied late. Park Vista, the third ranked team in the state, and grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second as Iliana Hernandez led off the inning with a single to left and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Isabella LaGreca followed with a run scoring single for the 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the second inning, Park Vista’s LaGreca reached on an infield single, stole second and third and was called out on a bang-bang play trying to steal home.

The Cobras, winner of their first state title in 2019 and state runner-up last season, nearly added another run with two outs in the bottom of fourth after Hernandez reached on a single and moved to third following a stolen base and a passed ball.

Cristina Penny walked and continued to second to get caught in a rundown, however she was erased when she was tagged out by second baseman Kiara Beltre just before Hernandez crossed home plate.

“We battled and we took some chances because we knew they had a strong arm in the circle,” said Park Vista coach Joe DellaRocca. “We were pushing for the opportunity We were pushing for an insurance run and both plays were close and didn’t go our way unfortunately.”

Lake Brantley then struck for five hits in the bottom of the sixth for a 3-1 lead. Jaiden Griffith, who finished 3 for 3 in the game, drilled a shot to right and came all the way around to score on an inside-thepark home run that knotted the game at 1-1.

“We were playing a slap defense with their leadoff hitter and she pulled it a little harder than we had hoped,” DellaRocca said.

One out later, Kate Conway singled to center and, after a strikeout, scored on a double to left by Bristin Bordeau. Hannah Marien then lined an RBI single up the middle as the Patriots carried a 3-1 lead into the seventh.

Marien, a Stetson commit who tossed a three-hitter with nine strikeouts, retired the side in order in the top of the seventh to notch her 17th victory of the season.

“It was a close game,” DellaRocca added. “This was a great senior group and even with the interruption because of Covid they have won about 90 percent of their games and made it to the final four three times. It is an impressive group of young ladies.”

Lakewood Ranch will face secondranked Lake Brantley (25-4) in the title game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Lakewood Ranch lost back-to-back games to Lake Brantley, winners of 13 straight, back in late March.