Lake Worth Christian's run ends in state semis

VERO BEACH — Lake Worth Christian’s Cinderella season ended in the state softball semifinals Monday afternoon at Historic Dodgertown. Alexis Kilfoyl pitched a four-inning no-hitter and Brooke Blankenship went 2 for 3 with two runs and two RBIs to lead Land O’Lakes-Academy at the Lakes — the state’s No. 1-ranked team — to a 15-0 victory over the unranked Defenders in the second of two Class 2A semifinals.

The Wildcats (25-4) advanced to play Monticello-Aucilla Christian for the state championship today.

Lake Worth Christian, which barely had enough players to field a team this year and advanced to the state tournament as a district runner-up, finished 10-5.

“It’s been an amazing time for them — just the experi- ence that we got to come here and play,” first-year Defenders coach Juli Duke said. “This team is on a whole new level. (Our) girls have not played before. (We have so many) new players. It’s a hard loss, but it’s a good thing that we were here.”

The Wildcats started quickly on offense, scoring six runs in the bottom of the first, with Kilfoyl and seventh-grader Caitlin Blankenship each contributing tworun singles.

Academy at the Lakes sent 11 batters to the plate in the inning, collecting five hits off Defenders starter Becca Ross.

Ross, who didn’t start pitching until midway through the season, struck out two in the inning, includ- ing the final batter with two runners on. But she ran into trouble again in the second, allowing the first four batters to reach base — one on an error — and giving up four runs before she was replaced by freshman Ariana Marton.

Meanwhile, Kilfoyl was cruising. The 6-foot-2 junior, who entered the game with a 0.35 ERA and 225 strikeouts on the season, added nine more in the first three innings. Just two Defenders batters reached base against Kilfoyl — both on third-inning walks — and she did not allow a runner past second. Kilfoyl finished with 11 strikeouts and improved to 22-1 on the season.

Academy at the Lakes closed the game out with five runs in the fourth.

“We faced a team that had a coach that is a college-level coach,” Duke said. “This is my first year. I don’t have that experience. But these girls did a tremendous job. I’m very proud of them.”