Melbourne Softball repeats as Cape Coast Conference Champion
TITUSVILLE — After scoring four runs in the second inning to take an early lead, undefeated Melbourne won the 2024 Cape Coast Conference Championship over Astronaut 9-0 Wednesday night.
Layna Ayala got the scoring started for the Bulldogs in the second inning when she got a hit to bring in a run. Hailey Turner's hit allowed two more runs to score in the inning and Rylie Mecchella also got a hit to bring home Melbourne's fourth run of the inning.
Melbourne head coach Dan Edel said the team entered the game with their usual mindset of focusing on the opponent in front of them and mentioned that he was happy with how the team adjusted to the game.
"They adjusted to the pitching. We struggle with slower pitching and we hit really well on faster pitching, so they made the adjustment in the box, and they were able to keep the bats going," Edel said. "We fell off a little bit towards the end, but all in all, everybody made the adjustment."
The Bulldogs went on to score four runs in the third inning and one run in the fourth inning. Astronaut was held scoreless in the game with Melbourne pitcher Jasmine Francik on the mound.
Francik finished the night with 14 strikeouts and only allowed one hit. After the game, Francik expressed excitement about how all the team's hard work has paid off so far this season.
"It feels amazing knowing this is really the first time in school history that we've gone undefeated so far, we're 24-0," Francik said. "And just knowing how hard all of us have worked for this and knowing all of us seniors are really just trying to make this the best season."
Melbourne improves to 24-0 and will face Lake Mary in its next game on April 25. The War Eagles have a record of 11-6 and will travel to play Rockledge on April 18.
Stats
Melbourne 9, Astronaut 0
Melbourne (24-0): 044 100 0 - 9 13 1.
WP: J. Francik 7.0 IP 1 H, 14 K; M. Prayto 1 H, 1 RBI; R. Mecchella 2 H, 1 RBI; J. Francik 1 H; A. Thompson 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI, 1 HR; L. Ayala 1 R, 2 H, 1 RBI; A. Berkemeier 1 R; H. Turner 2 R, 3 H, 2 RBI; C. Hurd 1 R, 1 H, 1 RBI; H. Harris 1 R.
Astronaut (11-6): 000 000 0 - 0 1 6.
Pitching: C. Brock 3.0 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 7 ER, F. Gallini 4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R; A. Rosado 1 H.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Melbourne softball wins cape coast conference championship
