Melbourne Bulldogs enter softball district tournament with an undefeated record
The Melbourne Bulldogs have done something that sports teams at every level attempt to achieve — complete the regular season with an undefeated record.
That unblemished mark includes victories over power programs like Bartow and Montverde Academy, which are ranked in the top 10 in the state.
Now they have to do it when it really counts: in the postseason.
After the team's Cape Coast Conference Championship win April 17, Melbourne head coach Dan Edel said the team's mindset is what has helped them be so successful.
"Everybody wants to bring their best, everybody wants to do what's right in the beginning and they're selfless," Edel said. " Every one of these girls has been selfless. There have been different girls that have sat the bench, different girls that have started and truly our mantra has been 'dogs all in,' and we have to be selfless in order to keep going."
Senior pitcher Jasmine Francik has been a key factor in Melbourne's success, not only this year but throughout her high school career.
This season, she has the third most strikeouts in the country and most in the state of Florida with 350. Francik also has a 0.24 ERA.
"What that does is it allows the offense to give us two to three runs, and if we can get two or three runs then we are unstoppable," Edel said.
With Rylie Mecchella, who leads the team with 35 hits, 25 runs and 26 RBI, catcher Alisha Thompson adding 23 RBI, 21 hits and three home runs, and freshman Layna Ayala having 30 hits, 25 runs, 18 RBI and a team-high five home runs, the Bulldogs' offense has been difficult to stop for opposing pitchers.
Overall, Melbourne has scored 176 runs while only allowing its opponents to score 20 runs this year.
Francik said it's a luxury for her to know the team has a high-powered offense that can put up runs each game.
"Knowing we can get runs on the board makes everything easier," Francik said.
The Bulldogs won the Class 6A state championship back in 2022. Currently, Melbourne is ranked fifth in the state and the rest of the top five teams in the state are all in Class 6A with the Bulldogs including Bartow, which Melbourne defeated 1-0 early this season.
With district tournaments starting Monday, April 29, and the state playoffs beginning soon after, Francik said the Bulldogs are looking forward to what the rest of the season will bring.
"The competition, and just competing every day and getting better every day," Francik said.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne softball undefeated in 2024 regular season as districts arrive
