Orlando area advances 11 softball teams to FHSAA regional semis
Homefield advantage benefited the majority of Orlando area softball teams during the opening round of Florida High School Athletic Association regional tournaments.
On Tuesday, eight of the 11 remaining local playoff teams will host semifinal games on their home turf. Winners advance to the regional final round on Friday.
Cornerstone Charter, one of the area’s five No. 1 regional seeds, will host The First Academy in a rematch of a Class 2A district championship game. The Ducks are 14-8 all-time vs. TFA, according to MaxPreps.
Windermere High (7A), Horizon (5A), Eustis (4A) and Montverde Academy (3A) are the other top seeds. Lake Brantley (7A), Hagerty (6A) and Foundation Academy (2A) play at home as No. 2 seeds.
The season ended in the quarterfinal round for 16 area programs, including Boone, Deltona, East River, Harmony, Osceola, St. Cloud and Groveland South Lake.
Admission to all regional games is $9. Tickets are available for purchase at the GoFan app.
Class 7A Region 1
No. 4 Seminole (15-7) at No. 1 Port Orange Spruce Creek (20-3), 7
No. 3 St. Johns Creekside (21-5) at No. 2 Lake Brantley (17-8), 7
Buzz: Seminole scored 1 run in the 7th inning and 3 more in the 8th for a 6-5 walk-off win vs. Lake Mary (12-16). Addison Poe, Anne Long and Madie Baker each had 2 hits. The ‘Noles are 1-14 vs. Spruce Creek since 2012. Lake Brantley, which defeated Spruce Creek in last year’s regional final, won 13-3 vs. Orange City University (14-12-1). Kayla Morris had 2 doubles and 5 RBI. The Patriots last played Creekside in 2018, during a 3-1 win in Ocala. Creekside advanced with an 11-6 win vs. Timber Creek (18-8).
Class 7A Region 2
No. 5 Palm Harbor University (19-6) at No. 1 Windermere High (21-4), 4:30
No. 6 Plant City Durant (18-8) at No. 2 Lutz Steinbrenner (20-8), 7
Buzz: Lexi King struck out 12 batters while allowing just 2 hits and Miranda Murch finished 2-for-3 as Windermere made easy work of Lakewood Ranch (6-21) during a 5-0 win. The Wolverines reached the regional finals last season. Palm Harbor University is batting .349 as a team with 66 extra-base hits. Durant scored a 7-6 upset win in 10 innings at No. 3 seed Clermont East Ridge (19-8) to improve to 11-1 since April 4. Steinbrenner defeated Durant 5-2 on March 15.
Class 6A Region 1
No. 4 Niceville (18-8) at No. 1 Pace (24-2), 7
No. 3 Orange Park Oakleaf (18-8) at No. 2 Hagerty (22-5), 7
Buzz: Pace finished as state runner-up last year after knocking off Hagerty in the regional championship round. Pace, which has 16 shutouts this season, won 12-2 vs. Oviedo (12-14) in the quarterfinals. Hagerty rolled to a 15-0 win vs. Cantonment Tate (15-12) as Rachel Matthiesen went 3-for-3 with 2 home runs and Alexandra Beldowicz finished 3-for-3 with 2 doubles. The Huskies won 2-0 last May vs. Oakleaf, which advanced 8-3 vs. Lake Howell (14-10). Niceville won 8-2 vs. Winter Springs (15-14).
Class 5A Region 2
No. 4 River Ridge (16-11) at No. 1 Horizon (21-5), 7
No. 3 Auburndale (12-14) at No. 2 Seminole of Pinellas (18-10), 7
Buzz: Morgan Mayhew went 2-for-3 with a home run and 2 RBI and Avery Velazquez struck out 14 batters in 7 innings during a 5-3 win vs. Wesley Chapel (11-14). Velazquez also had an RBI on 2 hits. The Hawks face regional champion River Ridge, which improved to 4-4 since April 9. Horizon is batting .394 as a team with a 0.94 earned run average in the circle. Regional runner-up Auburndale won twice vs. Osceola last season by a combined 24-7 score.
Class 4A Region 2
No. 5 Lake Wales (15-13) at No. 1 Eustis (22-2), 7
No. 3 Melbourne Eau Gallie (16-6) at No. 2 Eagle Lake Lake Region (20-7), 7
Buzz: Eustis, which opened the season on a 15-game win streak, prevailed 9-6 vs. Merritt Island (13-12) as Adrianna Covino went 2-for-4 with 2 RBI, Kendall Kemp went 2-for-2 with a home run and 2 RBI and Jensen Luke had 2 RBI. The Panthers get a semifinal rematch vs. defending state champion Lake Wales, which beat Eustis 7-6 last season. Lake Wales, a 6-2 winner at Ocala Vanguard (18-7), defeated Lake Region 8-3 in the 2023 regional finals.
Class 3A Region 2
No. 4 Crystal River (22-5) at No. 1 Montverde Academy (24-4), 7
No. 6 Trinity Prep (17-6) at No. 2 Santa Fe (22-4), 7
Buzz: Aracelis Jimenez went 3-for-3 with a double and Danika Spinogatti went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and a double for Montverde during a 7-0 win vs. The Villages (13-13). Nevaeh Williams struck out 13 batters and allowed 2 hits with no walks for last year’s state semifinalists. Trinity Prep got a home run from Liliana Ornelas and 2 doubles from Emma Simms in a 4-2 win at No. 3 seed Ocala Trinity (20-8). The Saints face Santa Fe for the first time since winning 6-1 during the 2008-09 season.
Class 2A Region 2
No. 4 The First Academy (16-10) at No. 1 Cornerstone Charter (25-3), 7
No. 3 Academy at the Lakes (17-11) at No. 2 Foundation Academy (15-7), 7
Buzz: Cornerstone Charter is 10-3 vs. The First Academy since 2016, which includes a 5-2 district championship game win on May 2. Naya Rosario hit a home run while Yamilette Cordova and Ayani Hernandez each went 2-for-3 during a 13-0 win vs. Hernando Christian (15-5). TFA won 9-4 at Mount Dora Christian (14-13). Foundation, a state semifinalist last season, won 11-9 vs. Orangewood Christian (12-6). Elizabeth Ozim went 3-for-5 with 2 home runs for the Lions.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
