2-day wins for Lake Brantley and TFA

Lake Brantley softball moved a step closer to history Wednesday night, using overpowering pitching and balanced hitting to shut out district rival Hagerty 8-0 in a Class 7A, Region 1 semifinal at the Lake Brantley Sports Complex.

The Patriots (23-4), ranked No. 2 in all classifications by MaxPreps, got a 1-hitter and 11 strikeouts from senior pitcher Hannah Marien, and ripped 10 hits off three pitchers to advance to a regional final for only the second time. The game took two days to complete as lightning suspended play in the second inning Tuesday night.

The Patriots will host Orange Park Oakleaf (17-7) in the regional final on Friday at 7 p.m. with a state tournament berth the prize for the winner.

“This was an awesome game,” said Marien, a Stetson signee who used a screwball and curveball to retire the first nine batters and didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning. “We had a rain delay from yesterday and then a rain delay again. Once we got back from the rain delay, we hit and scored four in the third inning. I knew if I held them, we would have the win. We all did great. The defense backed me up and we got hits.”

Lake Brantley bunched together runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 7-0 lead. Jaden Griffith singled and scored on an RBI double by Madison Conway, and Bristin Bordeau smashed a 3-run home run in the third. In the fourth, Griffith had a sacrifice RBI and Kaeli Zahradnik had a 2-run single.

Zahradnik finished 2-for-2 with 2 walks, Bordeau went 2-for-4 and Ella Christopher went 2-for-3 with a double for the Patriots.

Hagerty (19-6) got its lone hit from Zoe Thornsbury.

“We’re fortunate enough to have Hannah,” said Lake Brantley coach Jacob Stanley. “We kind of know what we’re going to get out of her. I like our chances when we play at home. Offensively, we proved that. For whatever reason, we put the ball in play. We did a good job.”

TFA tops OCP: The First Academy made the most of 5 base hits to win 3-1 against visiting Orlando Christian Prep in a Class 2A Region 2 final. The Royals (23-6), like Lake Brantley, needed two nights to complete the game after a lightning stoppage on Tuesday. Hannah Harper pitched a 4-hitter with 9 strikeouts in the win.

Alexis Zerquera and Camille Mackedon had RBI hits for TFA, which scored twice in the bottom of the first inning to take a 2-1 lead. The Royals scored again in the second inning.

TFA will stay home to play second seed Mount Dora Christian (20-9) in a game that was listed for Thursday night, according to the Florida High School Athletic Association.