HS Roundup: Bishop Verot headed to beach volleyball state tournament

THURSDAY

Beach Volleyball

Bishop Verot 3, Barron Collier 2

Bishop Verot is returning to the FHSAA Beach Volleyball State Championships tournament for the second year in a row after topping Barron Collier 3-2 in the second round of play-ins.

The Vikings (18-2), playing on their home courts at the Midtown Beach Sports Complex, were led by their No. 3 pair of Kasey Corr and Sidney Blackwood, who steamrolled through their match against Nora Atkins and Ashley Giraldo, 21-8, 21-5.

Verot's other two match victories were at No. 1, where Marissa Peck and Lindsey Walsh beat Ava Zehnder and Angelina Aliyeva, 21-11, 21-8, and at No. 4, in which Camryn Hedge and Bella Higby beat Ashley Hyland and Ava Kramer, 21-11, 24-22.

Barron Collier's match wins were both in three sets. No. 2s Aisha Keric and Allison Giraldo defeated Taylor Hedge and Haylee Maserlo, 21-8, 20-22, 19-17. In the No. 5 match, Lexi Zanella and Alyssa Falcone came back to beat Ava Irion and Madelynn Wells, 14-21, 21-11, 16-14.

With the win, Verot (19-2) will face Charlotte in the opening round of the state tournament in Tallahassee on May 10. The Tarpons are the only team that has beaten the Vikings this year.

The dual finished the inaugural season for the Cougars (13-2), whose only losses were to the Vikings.

"Our girls have played awesomely," Barron Collier coach James Fellow said. "We have a lot of extremely talented athletes. They gave their heart. Bishop Verot is a very strong team. They've had a strong program for a while. They know the game better than some of our girls do."

Not only was the No. 3 win the most dominant for Verot, it was also the one that decided the overall match with the Vikings having won the No. 1s and 4s beforehand. In the No. 3 match, Blackwood made aces to take leads of 13-6 and 15-6 before set 1 was decided by an attack into the net.

Blackwood and Corr got off to a 10-1 lead. Corr made an ace by hitting the ball into and over the top of the net to make it 11-2 and then another ace into the back corner to make it 13-2. Blackwood made an ace to take a 16-3 lead and then scored the point that clinched the dual win for the Vikings when she attacked the ball to the back of the court behind the Barron Collier players.

"My No. 3s played solid and strong," Verot coach Kelly Corr said. "They've been together all year. They are sophomores. Each game that they play together, they get better. They had the game completely under control from the beginning. They played the best game, I think, that they've played all season and all year long, but they really have all stepped up their game."

― Dave Montrose

WEDNESDAY

FACA District 18 Softball Awards

2A Player of the Year: Zoe Yzaguirre, Evangelical Christian

2A Coach of the Year: Johnny Manetta, Evangelical Christian

3A Player of the Year: McKenna Robbins, Bishop Verot

3A Coach of the Year: Holly Davis, Aubrey Rogers

4A Player of the Year: Marissa Burchard, LaBelle

4A Coach of the Year: Raymond Marroquin, LaBelle

5A Player of the Year: Mackenzie Leiti, Naples

5A Coach of the Year: Dan Mills, Fort Myers

6A Player of the Year: Amber Chumley, Charlotte

6A Player of the Year: Dave Anthony, Charlotte

TUESDAY

District Baseball

Class 5A-District 12

Naples 3, Gulf Coast 1: At 9:41 p.m. Monday night, the Naples High School baseball team nearly saw their season come to a premature end in the district quarterfinals against South Fort Myers.

Just 23 hours and 51 minutes later at 9:32 p.m. on Tuesday, the Golden Eagles celebrated on Gulf Coast’s pitching mound following things up with a 3-1 win over the top-seeded Sharks.

Asked when to summarize Naples’s last 24 hours?

“A rollercoaster,” Naples coach Jimmy Nocera said. “An absolute rollercoaster. Last night was rough, but we made it through. The guys regrouped. All the credit to the guys for coming out, playing hard, and we leaned on our horse tonight, and he came through.”

The Sharks put pressure on Naples ace Johnny King early, who allowed four baserunners before a passed ball with the bases loaded made things 1-0 in favor of the home side.

Naples would find a way to respond in the top half of the third against Gulf Coast starter Evan Garcia. With the bases loaded and two outs, Tucker Hansen appeared to have hit into a third out, but a misplay by shortstop John Kacinas nodded the game at 1-all.

The fifth inning proved to be costly for Gulf Coast, as Garcia walked the first two batters on eight pitches before Colton Schlief walked King on five pitches. With the bases loaded, Brandon Garcia hit a ground ball that went off of the glove of Kacinas while diving to his right at shortstop, giving Naples a 3-1 lead.

It was huge for a Naples team that stranded the bases loaded with no outs in the CCAC Championship game against the Sharks, as Vincent Mattei worked around the jam then before the floodgates opened for Gulf Coast on April 5.

“When you get into big games in the playoffs, it’s not how many hits you get, it’s when you get them,” Nocera said. “Timely hits, we preach that, good starting pitching, solid defense, and timely hits. We don’t have to get a bunch; we just need them when guys are on base.”

After Naples claimed the lead, Gulf Coast had done what it was trying to avoid. They gave King (8-0, 0.16 ERA) a chance to pitch with the lead.

A switch flipped for the left-hander, striking out Gulf Coast’s top third of the order in Vincent Mattei, Peyton Hale, and Jackson Geiger in the bottom half of the fifth. It prompted a very animated King as he came off the mound, as he was in the midst of striking out six straight.

“I could never get those guys out,” King said. “I’ve faced them four, five, six times this year. Striking out the side there was huge, and I was so happy to do it.”

King’s night ended after 5 2/3 innings and 102 pitches, allowing two hits and four walks (one intentional) while striking out 11, giving him 100 strikeouts for the season.

“It’s been a grind,” King said. “My body is throbbing right now, but I’m happy my body’s healthy and I could get through it. God’s obviously by my side to help me and to be healthy. God blessed us with a win. Yesterday, I was thinking when we were down in the seventh, I was thinking that could’ve been the last one right here. We got some momentum, we won that game, had momentum coming into today. We started off a little slow, but it’s been the best 24 hours, ever.”

The Golden Eagles (20-7) will take on Barron Collier (21-6) for the 5A-12 title on Thursday, with the winner set to punch a bid to the postseason. Port Charlotte losing to Fort Myers, ranked 394th in the state, might have opened up the door for both Naples and the Cougars to go to the postseason in a loaded region. Gulf Coast (15-10), which has lost its last four games dating back to last week, likely saw their playoff hopes all but vanish on their home field.

“For one, I’ve got to mention how much I respect Gulf Coast and their program,” Nocera said. “When you play a Pete Garcia team, you know you’ve got to be ready to play. The same thing goes for Barron. Adam Johnson does a good job over there. They had a big win tonight, and we know we have our hands full on Thursday.

“What I like about this team, being a 4 seed, we clawed, and we beat two good teams. We now have to play another good team. We’ll just have to see what happens on Thursday.”

— Alex Martin

Barron Collier 4, Bonita Springs 0: Nate Kantor lasted five innings for the Cougars, and allowed just one hit and no earned runs while walking four and striking out four. Bryce Aizenshtat went 2-for-2 with one run at the plate.

Class 6A-District 12

Riverdale 9, Ida Baker 8: Konnor VonHagen went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, two runs, and two RBI.

Charlotte 19, Palmetto Ridge 2

Class 2A-District 12

Canterbury 4, St. John Neumann 3 : The Cougars pulled off a massive upset on Tuesday to advance to a district title game. Evan Taveras homered for the third time in two games, while Joseph De La Nuez tripled. After J.T. Huether allowed three runs over 4 2/3 innings, Roan Hoefling allowed just three baserunners over the final 2 2/3, striking out three.

SFCA 3, Evangelical Christian 1: Cole Ingole went seven innings on the bump, and gave up just one earned run on four hits while walking four and fanning 15. Jake Trottier added a homer to the winning effort for SFCA.

Class 5A-District 11

Fort Myers 7, Port Charlotte 6: Bryce Ware went 2-for-4 with two runs, while Madrid Tucker added a pair of hits in an upset of the top-seeded Pirates.

Island Coast 8, Mariner 1: Jordi Guerrero belted a homer for the Gators and finished 2-for-3 with three runs and one RBI.

Class 4A-District 12

Estero 10, Cypress Lake 0: Case Bowman finished 3-for-4 with a home run, four RBI, and two runs. Will Swan got the win on the mound after giving up just one walk and no hits while fanning five.

Class 3A-District 8

Bishop Verot 10, Gateway Charter 0 : Maddix Simpson and Grayson Carpenter both had one double each in the Vikings' win. Carpenter finished 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBI. Blake Lavenia went all five innings, and allowed two hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.

Oasis 5, Clewiston 4: Grayson Medico had a pair of doubles for his two hits. Aiden Bonagura and Sean Osborn added two hits each in the Sharks' win.

District Softball

Class 5A-District 11

Ida Baker 9, Fort Myers 5: Sophomore Alyssa Auger blasted his first career home run, a grand slam, in the top of the seventh inning to help lift the Bulldogs past the Green Wave and into Thursday's district title game. Auger finished with five RBI. Tegan Webb went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs for Fort Myers.

North Fort Myers 10, Mariner 0 : The Red Knights saw productive performances from Audrie Florenzano, Mia Lane, and Kaliyah Williams at the plate, who combined to go 7 for 9 with a double, four runs scored, and five RBI.

Class 2A-District 12

SFCA 11, Seacrest 1 : Adrianna Thorne, Candice Chime, Kaley Fleischer and Anastin Hanson had two hits each for SFCA. Eighth-grader Braeyln Davis gave up just three hits and no earned runs with four walks and four strikeouts, eclipsing 300 career strikeouts in the process. Thorne set a new program record for 32 steals in a season.

Evangelical Christian 15, Moore Haven 0: Payton Billie, Samantha Yzaguirre, and Makayla Jakubuwski all had one double each in the win. Yzaguirre threw a no-hitter with seven strikeouts in four innings pitched.

Class 3A-District 12

Bishop Verot 16, Clewiston 0 : Six different Vikings managed multiple hits in the win.

Aubrey Rogers 13, Oasis 2: Jayline Martinez went 2-for-3 with three runs, while Sophia Truchan went 1-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Delaney McCroskery gave up just one hit and no earned runs with one walk and two strikeouts in five innings in the circle.

Class 4A-District 12

Bonita Springs 7, Estero 5: Jenel Favata went 4-for-4 with a double, one run, and one RBI for Estero.

Class 5A-District 12

Barron Collier 13, Naples 0: Sheila Forbes finished 3-for-3 with a double, one run, and four RBI while Gabby Alvarez went 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBI. Leena Forbes gave up four hits and three walks with two strikeouts in five innings pitched.

Immokalee 5, Gulf Coast 4

Class 6A-District 8

Riverdale 6, Palmetto Ridge 5: Maddie Schmidt tallied three hits for the Raiders, while Ella Bundy added two hits and two RBI. Jordyn Korpi got the win in the circle.

Charlotte 17, Lehigh 0

Girls Regional Lacrosse

Community School 18, Academy of the Holy Names 10: The Community School of Naples’ girls lacrosse team had plenty of individual stars in its region semifinal victory on Tuesday night. Yet coach Brett Queener and goalkeeper Sophia Dapper praised the Seahawks’ superior team effort in the latest Community School win.

With seven different players scoring, CSN had no problems beating the Academy of the Holy Names in the 1A-Region 3 semifinals.

“I’m very happy right now, because it was a good team win,” Queener said. “The girls played great. Our midfielders and attackers were very strong. Mia Metcalf, Stella Lynch and Tatum Kocaj dominated the draw circle. On the offensive side, Sienna Wyatt and Ruby Smith were just studs. That really helps.”

Metcalf scored four goals as CSN’s win put the team just one win away from the state finals. The Seahawks (14-4) will now face St. Stephens Episcopal in Bradenton in the 1A-3 final Friday night.

Kocaj scored three times, and Lynch and Smith each scored twice.

After an early Jaguar score, it was the Seahawks all the way. The game eventually went to running clock with 2:40 left in the third.

“Our team worked really hard to get here,” Dapper said. "We practice every day. We have made so much progress this season. We’re going to play our hardest on Friday and see where it takes us. We obviously wanted to continue our season. We didn’t’ want it to end right here.”

The Jaguars (13-5) had a few rallies in the game, but the Seahawks were able to fend them off.

“It was important for us to keep our matchups,” Queener said. “And we didn’t slide too early. And we were able to rely on our goalie making saves we know she will make.”

Maddy Hughes led the Jags with three goals.

Madison Maxwell put Holy Names ahead with a goal three minutes into the game. But then Wyatt scored twice within two minutes to put CSN ahead for good. Sloane Atterbury, Mia Metcalf and Stella Lynch followed with goals, and the Seahawks led 5-2 after one.

The Jags would get to within 5-3 on Hughes’ second goal early in the second.

But starting at 8:18 of the second period, the Seahawks built their lead up again. After scoring four goals in the final 2:11 of the second, CSN lead 13-5 at halftime.

— Tom Corwin

Saint Stephen's 16, Gulf Coast 4

BRADENTON - The Saint Stephen’s girls lacrosse team doesn’t go into every match with a goal of triggering a running clock on an opponent.

It’s just become a consequence of their superiority. On Tuesday, facing the visiting Gulf Coast Sharks in a Class 1A-Region 3 semifinal, Saint Stephen’s once again sent their fans home early in a 16-4 victory. When the Falcons (17-1) host the Community School of Naples in Friday’s regional final, it will be their third-straight appearance.

The team’s usual suspects took their place atop the Falcon scorebook. Haley Rosa had six goals and an assist; Sienna Cassella had five goals and an assist; in a quiet night for her, Ashling Marshall potted three goals, but assisted on seven others while finishing with 11 draw controls.

As a team, the Falcons controlled 22 of 24 draws. Controlling a draw immediately puts the team on the offensive. Indeed, it seemed as if the match’s 48 minutes were played exclusively on the Sharks’ side of the field. And Saint Stephen’s had just five turnovers, a sign of a clean, well-played game.

“Their speed off the draw,” Gulf Coast coach Lynn Garrison said when asked what separates the Falcons from their foes. “It’s a large part of the game. If you can’t move the ball off the draw, you can’t score.”

Saint Stephen’s had no such trouble. Goals by Cassella, Rosa and Marshall helped give the Falcons a 4-1 lead after the first quarter. In the second quarter, after a Rosa goal put the Falcons up 5-1 two minutes in, the Sharks drew within three on a tally by Kendall DeLuke.

But no more than 15 seconds later, Marshall restored the Falcons’ four-goal bulge with a shot that got past Gulf Coast goalie Mack McMaster. Goals by Rosa and Cassella put the Falcons up 8-2 at the break. Up 12-4 after three quarters, Saint Stephen’s needed two goals in the fourth to trigger the running clock, and tallies by Rosa and eighth-grader Ava Varga, the latter coming with seven minutes, 52 seconds left, did just that.

“They came out and pushed us in the first quarter and we were able to adjust to what they were doing,” said Falcons coach Pat Cassella. “They came and started face-guarding Sienna, which usually happens, and we had to try to get her away early. Once that happened, then it started opening up the offense.”

And soon enough, the Falcons were headed to another regional final.

— Doug Fernandes

MONDAY

District Baseball

Class 6A-District 12

(4) Palmetto Ridge 6, (5) Immokalee 5

Class 5A-District 11

(3) Mariner 2, (6) Cape Coral 0: PJ Marino's two-RBI double with two out lifted the Tritons past the Seahawks. Kelan Jamison threw a complete game in the shutout, and allowed five hits with no walks and nine strikeouts.

(2) Island Coast 15, (7) Dunbar 0

(4) Fort Myers 7, (5) North Fort Myers 6 (nine innings)

Class 5A-District 12

(4) Naples 9, (5) South Fort Myers 8 : The Golden Eagles walked it off in the bottom half of the seventh after trailing 8-7. Mac O'Malley walked and eventually scored, before Brandon Garcia's two out single proved to be pivotal. Vance Landry reached on an error, and another throwing error saw Garcia score the game-winning run.

(2) Bonita Springs 15, (7) East Lee County 0

(3) Barron Collier 8, (6) Golden Gate 1

Class 4A-District 12

(1) Estero 11, (8) Aubrey Rogers 1

(4) Cypress Lake 1, (5) DeSoto County 0

(2) LaBelle 16, (7) Gateway 6

(3) Lemon Bay 7, (6) Lely 4

Class 3A-District 8

(4) Gateway Charter 8, (5) Glades Central 6

Class 2A-District 12

(2) SFCA 8, (7) Seacrest 1: Cole Ingole belted his 11th homer of the year in SFCA's win, while Logan Waldrup added two hits and two RBI. Aiden Matyas lasted three innings on the bump, and gave up no hits, runs, or walks while fanning four.

(3) Evangelical Christian 7, (2) First Baptist 2: Hogan Gibbs tallied three doubles, two runs, and two RBI for the Sentinels, while Ryder Lutz went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Colsen Loughren pitched a complete game, and gave up one earned run on two hits while walking three and retiring seven.

(4) Canterbury 13, (5) Community School 0 : Evan Taveras belted a pair of home runs for the Cougars, finishing with 6 RBI on the night.

(1) St. John Neumann 18, (8) Marco Island 1

Softball

Class 5A-District 12

(2) Barron Collier 16, (7) South Fort Myers 0 (three innings)

(3) Naples 16, (6) Golden Gate 0 (four innings)

(4) Gulf Coast 23, (5) East Lee County 0

Class 5A-District 11

(4) Mariner 10, (5) Cape Coral 0 (six innings): Gabi Winters pitched a no-hitter for the Tritons, and tallied 14 strikeouts in the win. Kaylen Rounding and Mia Standard tacked on two hits each.

(3) Ida Baker 15, (6) Dunbar 0 (three innings)

Class 4A-District 12

(2) Estero 15, (7) Island Coast 0 (three innings)

(3) Bonita Springs 16, (6) Lely 1 (three innings)

(4) Cypress Lake 6, (5) Gateway 3

Class 2A-District 12

(3) Seacrest 15, (6) Community School 0 (four innings) : Cece Spencer went 3-for-3 with three doubles, four runs, and two RBI while Sidney Dawick finished 3-for-4 with two RBI and three stolen bases. Jolie Booth added a pair of hits with a triple, one RBI, and three runs. Caroline Porter finished 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs, and gave up just one hit and no walks with five strikeouts in the circle.

(4) Moore Haven 7, (5) St. John Neumann 0

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: HS Roundup: Bishop Verot headed to beach volleyball state tournament