The high school baseball and lacrosse seasons came to a close this past week with five teams advancing to the FHSAA State Final 4 in their respective sports.
The top finishing team was the surprising Lake Mary High School girls lacrosse squad, which was not expected to advance this far with such a young team, only five seniors and 11 juniors, but the Rams (19-4) did not listen to the ‘experts’ and got all the way to the final by edging Vero Beach (19-4), 6-5, in the semifinals before falling to undefeated Plant High School (24-0) from Tampa, 10-7, in the Championship Game.
Lake Mary fell behind early, trailing 7-1 after the first quarter and was still down by seven, 9-2, at halftime.
The Rams made a game of it in the second half, scoring three goals in the third period to close to within 9-5, but eventually ran out of time.
Lake Mary was coached by Athletic Director Rick Weyers with Pat Barrett serving as Assistant Coach and the roster was made up of Seniors: Julia Berzovich, Noelle Jones, Leanne Marsham, Kiera Puryear and Mikala Thomas; Juniors: Audrey Arigo, Lauren Arigo, Fiona DeAcutis, Megan Hill, Emma Kay Hohman, Eryn Johannes, Ashlee Johnson, Nola Magzag, Kylee Russell, Kylie Sidman and Gracyn Stoner; Sophomores: JJ Ashford, Natalee Brubaker, Kendall Hinson, Tatum Plourde and Emily Winn; and Freshmen: Julee Brubaker and Kayla Cayce.
Joining the Rams in the Final 4 were the Hagerty High School girls (16-6), which were ousted by Plant, 17-6, in the semifinals.
The Huskies were led by brothers Mitch Whittington and Robert Whittington, who served as co-head coaches. Making up the roster were Seniors: Izzy Binsack, Gia Digiore, Hayleigh Fiorenza, Jariana Fletcher, Stacy Glover, Elena Hill, Jenna Manieri and Haley Thomas; Juniors: Samantha Cuipik, Chloe Miller, Maddy O’Connor and Chloe Tabor; Sophomores: Ashlyn Hamman, Emma Hill, Peyton Huffer and Elena Rogers; and Freshmen: Allison Bondinell, Jessy Chamelin, Shelby Maloney and Madden Monroe.
The biggest surprise came in the boys half of the tournament as two-time defending champion and undefeated Lake Mary High School (19-1), which was shocked in the semifinals by Ponte Vedra (19-3), 10-9, in overtime.
Garrick Robinson was the Head Coach of the Rams and he was assisted by Mark Ayad, Anthony DeLuca, James Guthrie, Danny Hogan, Andrew Lyon, Braeden McKercher and statistician Gary Hendrzak.
Making up the roster were Seniors: Justin Batillo, Brayden Becker, Jake Berman, Lucas Bush, Phoenix Coker, Brady Evans, Chase Hinshaw, Dylan Linder, Jack Lorenz, Parker Perales, Cam Presti, Dane Rogers, Luke Shale, Blake Skoglin, Collier Smith and Elijah Straker; Juniors: Aidan Botta,Noah Carroll, Chad Dannhaeuser, Justin DeSmedt, David Martino, Max Masterson, Cooper McLane, Bodhi Lyon, Jack Peterson, Patrick Ryan and Chase Truesdell; Sophomores: Liam Elbo, Jacob Freeman, Peyton Pontoni, Chase Powell and Zane Sturgill; Freshmen: Harrison Crisp, Bear Garrett and Timmy Winnans.
In Baseball, Hagerty (29-7-1) fell to Jupiter (26-9), 6-4, in Class 7A and Orangewood Christian (21-11) had an early 2-0 lead but was ousted by Ft. Myers-Canterbury (25-11), 3-2 in 8-innings, in Class 1A.
Mike Sindone was the Head coach for the Huskies and he was assisted by Kevin Gallaher, Pitching Coach, Jacob Colquhoun, Assistant Coach/1st base coach, Chelsea Wildey, Hitting Coach, Allan Tuttle, Assistant Coach, Dylan Strickland, Assistant Coach, John Prano, JV Head Coach/Varsity Assistant and Chuck Prano JV/Varsity Assistant.
Making up the roster were Seniors: Matt Alfonso, Elijah Barriga, Stephen Chucka, Ryan Foscolo, Liam Gray, Brandon Levy, Carlos Morales, Max Murray Jr., Alex Pantoja, Michael Pastrana Jr., Marcos Salva and Hunter Smith; Juniors: Brendan Beldowicz, Jalin Copeland, Keltan Fitzgerald and Koben Zeigler; Sophomores: Noah Adkins, Carlos Cruz, Nate Rhodes and Nick Stentiford; Freshmen: Isaias Torres, Aiden Kearney.
The Orangewood Rams were led by Head Coach Scott Hilinski, Assistant Coach Ralph Albano, Pitching Coach Kevin Davidson and Infield Coach Max Moro.
And the roster was made up of Seniors: Evan Bizik and Keelan Lechmaier; Juniors: Carson Balls, Jack Benson, Rex Martin, Tre Roach and Austin Wendorf; Sophomores: Aiden Balls, Grayson Hilinski, Addison Lambert, Sam Lambert, Rhys Oldham, Max Sakala and Alex Walker; Freshmen: Aaron McClarnon and Daniel Johnson; 8th-Grade: Brent Bartholomew and Bjorn Nelson; and 7th-Grade: Hudson Lewis.
Here are the results:
LACROSSE
STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS
At Paradise Coast Sports Complex, Naples
BOYS
Semifinals
Class 2A
Thursday, May 8
(1) St. Thomas Aquinas (20-3) 9, (4) Plant (20-3) 6.
(2) Ponte Vedra (19-3) 10, (3) Lake Mary (19-1) 9 (Overtime).
Final
Saturday, May 10
(1) St. Thomas Aquinas (21-3) 13, (2) Ponte Vedra (19-4) 4.
GIRLS
Class 2A
Semifinals
Friday, May 9
Class 2A
(2) Lake Mary (19-3) 6, (3) Vero Beach (19-4) 5.
(1) Plant (23-0) 17, (4) Hagerty (16-6) 6.
Final
Saturday, May 10
Class 2A
(1) Plant (24-0) 10, (2) Lake Mary (19-4) 7.
BASEBALL
FINAL 4
Hammond Stadium at Lee Health Sports Complex, Fort Myers
Class 1A
Semifinals
Wednesday, May 14
Game 1 _ (1) St. Johns Country Day (26-8) 2, Miami-Brito (16-14) 0.
Game 2 _ (2) Ft. Myers-Canterbury (25-11) 3, (3) Orangewood Christian (21-11) 2, 8-innings.
Final
Thursday, May 15
Championship _ (2) Ft. Myers-Canterbury (26-11) 6, (1) St. Johns Country Day (26-9) 2.
Class 7A
Semifinals
Friday, May 16
Game 1 _ (1) Stoneman Douglas (30-2) 5, (4) Tampa-Alonzo (21-13) 0.
Game 2 _ (3) Jupiter (26-9) 6, (2) Hagerty (29-7-1) 4.
Final
Saturday, May 17
Championship _ (1) Stoneman Douglas (31-2) 3, (3) Jupiter (25-10) 2.
