Class 2A state track & field: Cardinal Mooney's Dempsey takes first in 3200-meter run

THURSDAY

TRACK & FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Class 2A

AT : University of North Florida

BOYS SHOT PUT - 5. Owen Tannehill (Lemon Bay) 51 feet, 1/4 inch; 7. Kevontay Hugan (Booker) 50 feet, 6 inches

GIRLS 100 DASH - 5. Terrietta Smith (Booker) 12.22

BOYS 100 DASH - 6. Jayson Evans (Booker) 11.02

BOYS 200 DASH - 8. Jayson Evans (Booker) 22.01

GIRLS 1600 RUN - 7. Addison Dempsey (Cardinal Mooney) 5:07.43

GIRLS 3200 RUN - 1. Addison Dempsey (Cardinal Mooney) 10:35.87

WEDNESDAY

TRACK & FIELD STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS

Class 1A

AT : University of North Florida

BOYS LONG JUMP - 5. Candler Johnson (Bradenton Christian) 22 feet, 7 inches

BOYS JAVELIN - 3. Evan Brown (Saint Stephen's) 166 feet, 9 inches

TUESDAY

SOFTBALL

Class 5A-Region 3 semifinals

Parrish 5, Northeast 0

PARRISH - Truth be told, Rylee Little’s teammates should have scored 15 runs for their ace pitcher.

Even if she only would have needed one.

The host Parrish High softball team followed a familiar script on Tuesday in a Class 5A-Region 3 semifinal against Northeast, and it had Little on center stage in a 5-0 victory which advanced the defending 5A champions into Friday’s regional championship against visiting North Fort Myers.

In a game which saw the top-seeded Bulls (17-8) collect 15 hits off Viking starter and loser Danielle Brunner, but score just the five runs while stranding 11 runners, Little glowed. The left-hander, who came into the game with a 12-5 record, 186 strikeouts in 113.1 innings, overpowered Northeast hitters, hurling a seven-inning no-hitter, walking two and fanning 14.

Besides the two walks, the only other Viking to get on base against Little was third baseman Brooke McCarthy, who reached first in the sixth on a Parrish error with two out. But Little got Lashell Roberts to line out to second, then struck out two of the three Viking hitters in the top of the seventh to send the Bulls into their second regional final in as many years.

“You always want to be climbing that mountain at the end of the year,” Parrish head coach Erin Spivey said, “and I think we’re doing that.” After losing three in a row and seven of nine from mid-March to mid-April, the Bulls are currently riding an eight-game winning streak. “We’re mixing things up, we’re putting the ball in play down the lineup,” Spivey said. “The defense is becoming solid, so, yeah, we’re climbing that mountain and we’re peaking when we need to peak.”

Parrish got production up and down its lineup against Northeast (14-6), just not in the form of runs. Ella Romano finished 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Hannan Lewis had three hits and an RBI; Jade Kruse had three hits and scored a run; Kyndal France had a hit and two RBI; and Mackenzie Pandelo went 2-for-3.

Parrish scored single runs in the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth innings. An additional hit in any of the frames would have exploded the Bulls’ margin of victory. “We easily could have gone up a lot, but we didn’t,” Spivey said. “They were a decent ballclub and they did a good job.”

That meant Viking batters not looking completely overmatched at the plate against Little, who employs a rise ball with which she’s able to dot the corners of the plate, complemented by a change-up thrown about 15 miles-per-hour slower.

“I trust my team a lot,” she said. “I know that no matter what, they’re going to hit the ball, and we’re going to get that run. I’m going to go out there and do my job and they’ll have my back.”

Said Spivey, “She’s able to really work around the zones, and she’s a senior. She’s got a really good sense of calmness to her on the mound. She has just been putting it all together and we’ve been backing her up and I couldn’t ask for anything more right now.”

A similar performance by Little against North Fort Myers would be one.

- Doug Fernandes

Class 6A-Region 2 semifinals

Bloomingdale 3, Palmetto 2

AT : Bloomingdale

TOP PLAYERS : (P) Emily Borresen 1-4, HR, run, 2 RBI; (LP) Makenna Lee (6 inns., 4 hits, 3 runs-0 earned, 2 walks, 5 strikeouts). B loomingdale scored two unearned runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to take a 3-2 lead.

RECORDS : Bloomingdale 27-1, Palmetto 15-11

MONDAY

BASEBALL

Class 7A-Region 2 championship

Windermere 5, Venice 4

VENICE – The Venice High baseball team relied on several freshmen and sophomores to win games all season, and that formula nearly worked again on Monday night in the Class 7A-Region 2 championship against Windermere.

But those young Indians couldn’t have been fully prepared for the wild emotions – and mental miscues – that can come with playoff baseball.

Venice made some game-changing mistakes, including one that led to the game-deciding run in the top of the eighth inning in a 5-4 extra-innings loss at Venice High School.

The win gives Windermere (27-3) the regional championship and the loss ends Venice’s season at 26-4.

“We let our emotions get the best of us at times there, just wanting to do so good,” Venice coach Craig Faulkner said. “We teach to save your emotions for after a game and to stay in the game. We have some young guys, and emotions got the best of them a little bit.

“We knew that was a good team, and whoever made the least amount of mistakes was going to win that game, and we made more than they did.”

Venice’s final mistake came in the top of the eighth inning when sophomore pitcher Carter Cox dropped to a crouch as he looked to the first-base umpire in disbelief following a called check-swing on Windermere batter Juan Lopez with one out and the bases loaded.

With his hands at his head and his face directed at first base, Cox didn’t see the throw back from senior catcher Jon Embury until it was bouncing past him and Wolverines senior Osjun Rivas took full advantage – sprinting down the third-base line to score the game’s final run.

“He did a good job,” Faulkner said of Cox. “You just have to catch that baseball.”

Cox was brought in from center field to pitch two batters into the eighth after senior relief pitcher Simon Yochum had to be removed.

Yochum had been shutting down the Wolverines, allowing no base runners with five strikeouts through 2 ⅓ innings until he hit Rivas with a pitch to open the inning.

“He was getting some real tightness in his forearm, so we had to go get him,” Faulkner said of Yochum. “He was doing a great job for us.”

Venice was pushed to its limit all night, starting with a wild top of the first in which the Wolverines took a three-run lead on four hits.

Windermere’s first three batters – senior Ty Head (double), sophomore Randy Ruiz (RBI single) and senior Jack Waddingham (single) – reached against Venice junior starting pitcher Jackson Lucas, who nearly escaped the inning with just one run across before allowing a two-run double to senior Javier Calzadilla.

Venice didn’t need much time to rally against Windermere senior starting pitcher Cannon Feazell.

Lucas bounced back with a 1-2-3 top of the second before the Indians took the lead with a four-run home half of the inning.

Indians junior shortstop David Dubrule knocked home freshman designated hitter Jonathan Mauro and freshman outfielder August Backman on a single to right field to open the scoring. Embury and Lucas – the next two batters – followed with RBI singles to take the lead before Wolverines relief pitcher Joey Waddingham ended the inning with a groundout.

But Ruiz led off the top of the third inning with a solo home run deep over the left field wall to knot the game at 4-4, and that’s where it stayed until Venice’s fatal mistake.

Venice had a few chances to take the lead in the closing innings. Mauro led off the home half of the sixth with a single, but freshman second baseman Graham Houston turned a routine bunt into a double play when he left first base – not realizing the throw had gone to second for a force out.

Though Venice would put the next two batters on via walks, Windermere senior reliever Cruz Warp came in to get a full-count strikeout of Dubrule to end the threat when it could have been the second out of the inning with the bases full.

The Indians had a shot to walk the game off in the seventh off Warp when freshman outfielder Keagen O’Brien knocked a two-out double down the left-field line, but a groundout ended that opportunity.

Finally, there was one last chance to tie the game up in the bottom of the eighth.

Houston reached on a walk and Backman bunted him over to second, but Warp got the Indians’ final two batters – Schumaker and Dubrule – to go down in order on a strikeout and a pop out to end the game.

“I’m pretty proud of how they came back after three runs in the first inning,” Faulkner said. “It’s a disappointing loss, but I’m pretty proud of what the team did this year. Sixteen wins in a row. No. 1 seeds, and winning the district. We hadn’t done that in a while. There’s a lot of things to celebrate.

“When you don’t win it all, it’s always frustrating when you want to, but I’m pretty proud of these guys.”

- Vinnie Porcell

Class 5A-Region 3 championship

Jesuit 6, Parrish 3

AT : Jesuit

TOP PLAYERS : (P) Matthew Thompson 1-3, 2 RBI; Tyler Cripe 2-4, run; Alex Tallo 1-2, run; Jonathan Maassen 2-3; (LP) Troy Guthrie (5.2 inns., 6 hits, 6 runs-4 earned, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts). Jesuit scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning.

RECORDS : Jesuit 24-6, Parrish 23-8

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Class 2A state track & field: Cardinal Mooney's Dempsey takes first in 3200-meter run