Lakewood Ranch softball advances to state title game

Lakewood Ranch High softball is title-game bound. 

The Mustangs (30–0) beat Cooper City High 12–2 on May 23 to advance to the Class 8A championship game. At 5:35 p.m. Friday, Lakewood Ranch will play Winter Springs High, which beat Oakleaf High 7–6 earlier Thursday, for the title. 

Lakewood Ranch overpowered Cooper City early, scoring three runs in the first inning thanks to a Claire Davidson fielder's choice with the bases loaded and a two-out, two-RBI single from Emma Anthony. They added six more in the fourth inning; Mackenzie Clark hit a three-run home run, Maddie Koczerut plated two on a double and Taylor Woodring scored Koczersut from second with a single. In the seventh inning, Avery Goelz tripled home a run, Davidson hit an RBI double and Koczersut did the same. 

Davidson also started the game on the mound, throwing four innings and allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts. Payton Kinney threw the final three innings, allowing one run on three hits with six strikeouts. 

Lakewood Ranch, the top-ranked team in the country according to MaxPreps, now turns its attention to Winter Springs (30–0), ranked fourth in the country. The two programs are evenly matched: Entering the final four, the Bears were hitting .368, while the Mustangs were hitting .367. Lakewood Ranch had the advantage in home runs (35–25) and doubles (76–63) while each team had 16 triples. The Mustangs also held an advantage in ERA (0.83–1.08) and strikeouts (221–208).