Academy softball shut down and shut out the Berkeley Buccaneers 10-0 Tuesday, April 15 in their first District game.
The players were expecting a hard-fought game, but the odds turned to the Academy early on. The Jaguars capitalized on opportunities and ran the bases aggressively in the first inning to contribute to their massive run output. The batting line-up was producing from bottom to top and dominated at the plate.
On defense, senior Alexandra Gerecke kept the Berkeley batters on their toes and pitched for the win. Junior outfielder Devin Lewis recorded a large number of the outs and robbed the batters of their extra base hits.
Other major contributors on offense and defense were Janelle Enriquez and Ashton Hill.
Alexandra Gerecke said that walking into the game, the seniors were hoping for a quick and easy win, so that their careers would not be put to an end. “I knew that we had the capability to win,but we wanted to make absolutely certain that it would not be our last game.”
The team will face Tampa Catholic in the District final game at 7:00 at the Academy, which is predicted to be a heated battle between the two rivals.
The inspiration the team was obvious following senior night when Academy softball honored their five seniors and their achievements at Senior Night on Tuesday, April 9. The game against the Academy of the Lakes began at 6pm, but the senior festivities started fifteen minutes prior to the first pitch.
The underclassmen on the squad planned the whole night and decorated the field with posters and balloons to surprise the seniors. They also provided gifts and roses and wrote speeches for them. The sophomores and juniors finished the special celebration before the game by reading speeches to the girls to show them how much they have meant to the team.
The future looks promising for the Jaguars’ seniors as all of them have been admitted to their top-choice schools. Alexandra Gerecke will be attending the University of Tampa. Shannon Taylor plans to attend the University of Florida. Caroline Sutton will be playing softball at Rhodes College, while Christina Gerecke has committed to play golf at Stetson University. Ashton Hill is still undecided, but she will make her decision soon.
To make the day even more special, the team defeated the Academy of the Lakes 9-5, and the seniors played an important role in the win.
Taylor, the left fielder, decided not play on the team last year, but she is glad she returned to the team and was impressed with all of the events on Senior Night. “I am really excited I decided to play this year. The underclassmen did a great job with the planning of the night and with the gifts.”
The Jaguars improved to a record of 14-3 with the win and have one game remaining before their tournament in Naples this weekend and the District tournament next week.
