Allen Leads Way for Lakehawks

Leesburg, Fla. – It was a jam packed week of games for the Lake-Sumter State College softball team with six contests in seven days.

The week got started on the road against Pasco-Hernando State College where the Lakehawks took game one, 7-5. After trailing 4-3 in the seventh inning of game two, LSSC took a 5-4 lead. However, the game was called due to darkness before the inning was completed making the score revert back to the previous full inning. The Bobcats won the game, 4-3, in six innings.

One of the top teams in the state came into Leesburg on Thursday in the form of State College of Florida – Manatee-Sarasota. Game one started off with a bang for Lake-Sumter to the tune of a 5-0 lead after three innings. The Manatees fought back and plated seven runs over the final four innings to grab the 7-5 victory. Game two was also a close scoring affair with SCF coming out on top, 5-2.

Friday meant back on the road for the Lakehawks as they headed to Avon Park to take on South Florida State. A combination of a four-run first inning and a three-run home run in the fifth by Kiersten Kohlmaier had LSSC looking good with a 7-0 lead. Bad luck and bad weather allowed for a five-run bottom of the sixth to get South Florida right back into the game. They added two more runs in the seventh to send the game into extras. A three-run top of the ninth put the Lakehawks back on top. They would cling to a one run lead as they collected the final out of the ball game for the 10-9 victory.

Another big first inning for Lake-Sumter got them out in front early, 3-0. Payton Chestnutt threw a gem in the circle in game two, going the distance for the complete game victory. Chestnutt allowed two runs on four hits while striking out two in the 6-2 win.

The Lakehawks are now 9-7 on the season. Casey Allen had a great week on the plate hitting .524 with eight runs scored, four RBI's and 4 for 4 in stolen bases. She is now hitting a team high .462 on the season. Emily Kolwicz has continued her hot start to the season with a .426 average having hit safely in all but two of the team's game in 2020. Kohlmaier continues to show off her strength at the plate collecting her second home run of the season this past week. The utility player is hitting .414 with a .712 slugging percentage.

Brandi Davis picked up her fourth win of the young season against South Florida State and is currently 4-0. Sarah Grindrod has been one of the biggest surprises for the Lakehawks with a record of 3-1 so far.

Lake-Sumter will head to Clearwater Thursday to take on St. Pete College (9-5). Game one is slated to begin at 4 pm.