Lake Brantley softball marches past Winter Park in region quarterfinal

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FLORIDA – If the Lake Brantley Patriots wanted to send a message to opponents this softball season, their pitchers took care of that on Friday night.

Freshman Lauren Compton, junior Gabriella Mike and senior Bristin Bordeau combined on a two-hit shutout to lead the defending Class 7A state runner-up Patriots to a convincing 5-0 victory against visiting Winter Park in a Region 1 quarterfinal game. The trio got plenty of support as 10 players collected at least one hit.

In recording its sixth consecutive victory, Lake Brantley (22-3), ranked No. 1 all classes in the FHSAA Power Rankings, advanced to play Lake Mary (13-13) on Tuesday, May 16, in the region quarterfinals.

The Lake Brantley-Winter Park matchup was delayed a day after lightning forced a postponement. It was the Patriots’ first game since beating Lake Mary, 3-0, for the District 3 title on May 4.

“That was a great team win,” said Lake Brantley coach Jacob Stanley. “It’s tough having an eight-day layoff between games, especially after sitting around for a lengthy delay (Thursday). I’m proud of the way we settled in and caught rhythm as a team as the game progressed.

“The pitching performance from Lauren, Gabby and Bristin was dominant,” Stanley said. “They kept their pitch counts low and still managed to rack up 15 strikeouts as a pitching staff.”

The pitching performance gave Lake Brantley time to find its groove at the plate, although the Patriots did forge a 2-0 lead right off the bat in the first inning.

Kiara Beltre ripped a line drive single to centerfield and then scored after Catharine Conway reached on an error. Conway then scored on an error to put Lake Brantley up 2-0.

The Patriots added a run in the fourth inning when Conway singled in Harris Gillam. Lake Brantley then gave itself additional breathing room in the fifth when Kiley Strott bashed a double to score Auriana Turner, and Mike doubled in Hayley Lounsberry for a 5-0 advantage.

“Offensively, it took a little bit to catch fire,” Stanley said, “I presume because of the layoff,” Stanley said. “But we got it going in the second and third time through the lineup. Ten girls each collected at least one hit, which was very impressive. It was a great team win in front of a great crowd.”

Now, Lake Brantley faces a rematch with visiting Lake Mary, which played the Patriots tight in their district title game a week ago. Lake Brantley also defeated Lake Mary, 10-2 and 6-1, during the regular season.

“We’re grateful for the opportunity to move on and looking forward to round two at home on Tuesday!” Stanley said.