Cypress Bay doubles up Monarch
Underclassmen lead Lightning to regional semis
WESTON — Freshman left fielder Grace Sullivan drove in four runs and sophomore Maegan Osmond pitched 5 solid innings of relief as host Cypress Bay topped Monarch, 12-6, in a Region 3-9A quarterfinal on Wednesday night.
The Lightning (16-11) advance to host a regional semifinal on Tuesday against Western, which knocked off Douglas, 5-4, earlier Wednesday. They have faced off with the Wildcats three times this season, going 1-2, dropping the two regular-season meetings but winning the District 12-9A final.
Osmond, who also homered on Wednesday, pitched mostly to contact and only had one run against her as both teams’ starters were yanked by the second inning with 11 combined runs scored in the first two frames.
After Monarch scored one in the first on a Brooke Tobey RBI single, Cypress hit a pair of two-run home runs in the bottom of the first to take a 4-1 lead. Sullivan, who hits third for the Lightning, went deep to left-center and Osmond to left.
The apparently commanding advantage was short-lived as Monarch plated four of its own in the second. The Knights had five hits, including an Andrea Ordonez RBI single, and took advantage of three Lightning errors in the frame.
Cypress Bay responded by retaking the lead in the bottom of the second, 6-5, with Jillian Kuntze bringing home a run with a base hit and Sullivan hitting a sacrifice fly to center.
The Lightning added two more in the fourth with Kuntze drawing a basesloaded walk and Sullivan hitting a nearly identical line drive to center for another sac fly. They scored another in the fifth and three more in the sixth.
Lexine Packer went 2 for 2 with two RBI and a pair of walks, and leadoff-hitting center fielder Sammy Perez went 3 for 4 driving in another pair.
dfurones@sunsentinel.com, @DavidFurones_