June 1, 2017
FHSAA STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RECAPS
9 teams came away with rings this year in Vero Beach. Below we will take a look at each state champion and what their journey looked like to get the rings.
1A:
Champion: Union County High School
Union County came cruising into the state final four winning their regional games by a combined score of 15-1. However, in the state semifinal game they hit a rough patch and all game long it was looking as if their state title dreams were going down the gutter as they were down 3-1 to Chipley High School going into the 7th inning. But, they never gave up hope and put up 3 runs to secure a 4-3 victory and a matchup with the reigning state champion for three years straight the Chiefland High School Indians. They came out striking early and got up 1-0 in just the first inning. Chiefland looked baffled and as if they didn't have any response. Union County went on to tack on 2 more runs in the third inning and one in both the fifth and the sixth innings. This was all they would need as they came away with an impressive 5-1 victory where Chiefland's lone run was scored in just the third inning. Junior Lexi Androlevich looked very impressive in the circle going the distance and only giving up 4 hits and 1 earned run. Union County finished the year 24-3 and went 10-0 in their district.
2A:
Champion: Canterbury School
After losing a close district championship game, the Crusaders found themselves matched up for a regional quarterfinal matchup with 2A District 6 champion Sarasota Christian. They ran through Sarasota 12-0 and found themselves right back where they were two weeks earlier in a game with their district champion Academy at the Lakes and this was for the right to go to Vero Beach. With a lot on the line the Crusaders came out ready and took a 5-3 game and made it to to Vero. Now all that was left was two more games and they'd be getting some rings. All that was in their way was Mount Dora Christian Academy. They ran through Mount Dora Christian in a very impressive 6-3 victory. The Crusaders found themselves matched up with reigning state champion who had knocked the Crusaders out for two years straight in the final four, Aucilla Christian. Aucilla struck first and came out to an early 1-0 lead. But, Canterbury struck back and tied the game up at 1 in the fourth inning. The game stayed deadlocked at 1 all the way up to the 9th inning. The Crusaders walked away in walk off fashion in a huge 2-1 victory and picked up their fourth state title in program history. Senior Ashley Campbell pitched all 9 innings and was credited with the win. Campbell also had an RBI. Senior Taylor Bump hit the walk off and scored one run alongside one RBI. Canterbury finished their season with a record of 25-7 and 7-1 in district play.
3A:
Champion: John Carroll Catholic High School
John Carroll came into the state final four on fire. They outscored their two opponents in regional play 32-0 and came away with run rule victories in both games. John Carroll continued coasting in the state final four when they beat Maclay 9-1 for a spot in the state championship. However, John Carroll was going to have to play familiar foe in Lakeland Christian who booted the Rams out of the state final four just last year. Not to mention Lakeland Christian has been the reigning state champion for three years straight. Lakeland Christian took the early lead 1-0 in the second inning. However, this would turn out to be the only run the Vikings would get. John Carroll came back and tied up the game at 1 in the third inning. The game stayed deadlocked at one all the way up to the sixth inning when John Carroll turned their bats on and put a 3 spot on the scoreboard. That was all John Carroll would need as they came away with a 4-1 victory and knocked off Lakeland Christian for the first time in three years. Senior Ashley Rosado was credited with the win and she pitched a complete game giving up only five hits and one run. Rosado also added on a RBI. Freshman Cammeo Pressutti went 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored.
4A:
Champion: Westminster Christian School
Coming into the state final four the Warriors were hot and on an 11 game winning streak. They won both their regional games in convincing fashion outscoring their opponents 14-1 in the course of the two games. They earned a matchup against Trinity Christian Academy in the State Final Four and they came away with a close 3-2 victory to earn a spot in the state title game against Oxbridge Academy. The question now was could the girls come away with their 13th win in a row and come home with the hardware? The answer to that was yes. The Warriors came out firing and put up one run in the fourth and came back with two more in the top of the fifth. Although, Oxbridge came back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the fifth, the Warriors still clung onto a 3-2 lead. Westminster picked up an insurance run in the top of the seventh and held off a late Oxbridge rally and came away with a 4-2 victory to give them their fourth state title in program history. Senior Nikkia Benetiz had a triple and a RBI.
5A:
Champion: Coral Springs Charter
The last time and the only time Coral Springs Charter had suffered a defeat in the 2017 season came in a 3-2 loss in an extra inning game against West Nassau. Coming into the state final four the Panthers had outscored their three opponents in regional play 20-1. They continued this momentum as they secured a spot in the state title game with a 3-1 comeback victory over Walton High School. Coral Springs was slated to play Eustis High School in a state final matchup. Coming into the game, both teams only had one loss so it was known that there was going to be a good game on our hands. Eustis struck first with a run in the bottom of the first inning. Eustis pitcher Delaney Heaberlin shut down the Panther lineup all the way until the sixth inning. In the sixth inning the Panthers got hot and put a two spot on the scoreboard. That was all they would need as Senior UCF Commit Allison Muraskin was dealing in the circle. Muraskin went the distance and tallied 5 strikeouts with no earned runs and gave up only 5 hits on the way to a 2-1 victory. Sophomore Lindsey Garcia and Junior Gianna Boccagno both had an RBI. Coral Springs Charter won their third consecutive state title and finished the season 30-1 and 3-0 in their district.
6A:
Champion: Land O' Lakes High School
Coming into the state final four the Gators were riding a 10 game winning streak where they outscored opponents 80-21. The Gators ran through their regional matchups all in convincing fashion. The girls won a regional quarterfinal game over Jefferson High School 10-0, a regional semifinal game over Wesley Chapel High School 4-2 and a regional final matchup over Springstead High School 2-0. Up next in the state final four was previously 27-3 North Fort Myers High School. The Gators pushed North Fort Myers record to 27-4 and their winning streak to 11 games with a 2-0 victory. Land O' Lakes now found themselves matched with American Heritage, who wasn't only the State Champion in 2017 but the school who knocked the Gators out of the Final Four. The game was scoreless up until the 6th inning when American Heritage took a 1-0 lead in the top of the sixth. However Land O' Lakes came firing back and put 3 up on the scoreboard to make it a 3-1 game. That was all the support Sophomore Tennessee commit Callie Turner would need as she went the distance in a 3-1 victory and was credited with the win. Turner had 8 strikeouts and gave up 1 earned run and 5 hits. Junior Tia Williams went 3-4 with an RBI. Land O' Lakes finished their season 29-3 and 9-2 in their district. Losing only one starter the Gators will be poised to make another deep run to Vero Beach next year.
7A:
Champion: Fort Myers High School
A almost undefeated season, suffering two losses, one the second game of the season and one in a close extra inning game with North Fort Myers, Fort Myers had been cruising all season long. Coming into the Regional Quarterfinal after winning a district championship game 1-0 over Venice High School, they carried this momentum and came away with an 11-0 run rule victory in just 5 innings over Naples High School. They then had to go on the road to play a Regional Semifinal game against Estero. They beat Estero 4-1 to advance to a Regional Final. For a right to go to Vero Beach all that was left standing in their way was Braden River. They came away with a 3-1 win in a game where they never found themselves trail. All that was left was two more games and they'd find themselves in a dog pile after a state title win. They once again came away with a 3-1 victory over Lake Region to earn a slot in the state championship. They were matched up with Niceville High School for the 7A State Title. Fort Myers struck early and put a 4 spot on the scoreboard in just the first inning. They followed this up in the second inning with a single run to make it 5-0. Then in the third they put another two runs on the board to make it 7-0. That was all they would need as they went on to win in convincing fashion 7-1 to secure the programs first ever state title. Junior Hannah Perkins was credited with the win as she went the distance and really shut down the Eagles lineup with her 5 strikeouts. Junior Jessica Wilson went 3-3 with 3 runs scored. The Green Wave finished their season 30-2 and 6-0 in the district. Without a single senior on this years state championship team it is very likely we could see them back in Vero next year.
8A:
Champion: Oakleaf High School
Giving up one run all state tournament long is unheard of. Then again, so is getting run rule victories in 3 out of 5 of the games. What's even more rare is getting a run rule victory in a State Final Four Game. These are all things that Oakleaf did. Coming into the tournament on a 21 game win streak, they continued to stay hot as they won all three of their regional tournament games by a combined score of 28-0. Two of the three victories resulted in a run rule victory. Then going into the state semifinal they were slated to play St. Thomas Aquinas. It being a State Final Four game, you'd normally think it'd be a well played game. But, Oakleaf came out and did what they did all season long and absolutely handed it to Aquinas and defeated them in a 10-0 run rule victory. Oakleaf was scheduled to play Wellington High School in the State Championship game. Oakleaf came out firing and opened up a 2-0 lead after scoring two runs in the top of the first. But then Wellington came fighting back in the bottom half of the inning and scored a run to make it a 2-1 game. The game stayed deadlocked at 2-1 all the way until the top of the 7th when Oakleaf put four key insurance runs on the scoreboard to make it a 6-1 game. Oakleaf would ultimately come away with the 6-1 victory behind a stellar pitching performance from Senior Kelsey Sweatt who went the distance. Sweatt recorded 6 strikeouts and gave up 1 run. Oakleaf finished the season 31-2 and 10-1 in their district.
9A:
Champion: West Orange High School
As reigning state champions the Warriors were looking to pull off winning the title back to back years and that's exactly what they did. In their Regional Quarterfinal matchup they defeated Lake Nona by a score of 7-0. They now found themselves about to play a rematch of their district championship against Apopka High School. They came away with a 5-3 victory to earn the right to play Spruce Creek in the Regional Championship. Senior University of Georgia signee Lauren Mathis shut down the Hawks bats and they cruised to a 2-0 victory to help them return to Vero Beach. They went on to advance to the state title game after an impressive 11-0 run rule victory over Palmetto High School who came into the game with a 22-1 record. The State Championship would have them in a matchup with Palm Harbor University. Palm Harbor came into the game 30-2, but left Vero with a record of 30-3. It was a pitching duel. Just a single run in the sixth inning to put West Orange up 1-0 wound up deciding the game. The final was 1-0 West Orange and they repeated as state champions. Mathis had another amazing performance in the circle as she went the distance and was credited with the win. She only gave up 4 hits and struck out 13 batters on the way to the victory. Senior Daytona State Signee Morgan Arcia went 1-3 with an RBI. West Orange finished the year with a record of 28-3 and 8-0 in their district.