PREVIEW: Lakehawk Softball Slated to Host South Atlantic District Championship

LEESBURG, Fla. (Softball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) softball team will host the 2023 Region 10 champion Louisburg College from May 12-13 for the South Atlantic District Championship. The two teams will play a best-of-three game series, with the winner advancing to the national championship in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

This past weekend, Lake-Sumter made program history winning their first-ever state title over Pasco-Hernando.

For the season, the Lakehawks have a 42-17 record. As a team, they have a .325 batting average, a .391 on-base percentage, and a .483 slugging percentage with 48 homeruns.

The Lakehawks currently have seven hitting over .300 headed into the weekend but are led by Molly Bender and Raquel Camuglia.

Bender was named the Florida College System Activities Association (FCSAA) Division II Player of the Year after the regular season. She currently has a .456 batting average, .513 on-base percentage, and a .751 slugging percentage.

Additionally, Bender is 44-for-45 for stolen bases with 20 walks, 41 RBIs, and a team-high 67 runs scored. She has 77 hits with 11 homeruns, 11 doubles and three triples.

Camuglia was an all-conference and all-state honoree as well as the Most Outstanding Player at the Region 8 Championship. For the season, she has a .420 batting average, .472 on-base percentage, and a .778 slugging percentage.

Camuglia leads the team with RBIs with 63 with 18 walks and 38 runs scored. She has 74 hits with a team-high 13 homeruns, 18 doubles, and three triples.

The Lakehawk pitching staff is led by sophomores Ali Shenefield and Darian Pippin.

Pippin has a 15-7/1 record on the mound. In 141.1 innings pitched, she has maintained a 2.63 ERA with 103 strikeouts.

Two of Pippin's best outings of the season came late in the year. The first was a seven-inning shutout against St. Johns River State College where she struck out nine to clinch a program-first conference title.

Most recently, she threw five innings in the Region 8 final against Pasco-Hernando. Pippin held their offense to just two runs with five strikeouts to record the win and the first ever Region 8 title.

Shenefield has dominated nearly every time she has taken the mound with an 18-2/3 record on the year. In 117.2 innings pitched, she has just a 1.49 ERA with 145 strikeouts.

Earlier in the season, Shenefield tossed the first perfect game in program history against Morton College. In five innings, she struck out 13 of 15 batters faced.

Pippin and Shenefield were both named all-conference and all-state pitchers as well as to the Region 8 all-tournament team. Shenefield was named the FCSAA Pitcher of the Year and the Most Outstanding Pitcher at the Region 8 Championship.

Region 10 champion and nationally ranked, Louisburg College will travel down to Florida from Louisburg, North Carolina. The Hurricanes are on their third district championship appearance in the past five seasons.

For the year, Louisburg is 58-2, their two losses coming early on in the season. As a team, they have a .408 batting average, .498 on-base percentage, and an .856 slugging percentage.

The Hurricanes lead the country with 185 homeruns; five players have more than 20. Brianna Tucker has 43 while Kennedy Byrd has 33, hold the top-two spots in the category.

Bryd is also a leader on the mound for the Hurricanes. The freshman hurler has a perfect 22-0 record with one save.

In 119.0 innings pitched, Byrd has maintained a 1.18 ERA with 131 strikeouts.

Louisburg has another freshman pitcher on the squad, Zoey Jones. For the season, Jones is 29-1 with a 0.76 ERA with 152 strikeouts.

Lake-Sumter and Louisburg will play a best-of-three double header on Friday afternoon at The HawksNest starting at 12:00 p.m. Game two will begin approximately 35 minutes after the conclusion of game one.

In the scenario of a split on Friday, the "if necessary" game three will be at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. The winner will advance to the national championship in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

The Hurricanes look to go back for the third time while the Lakehawks look to make their first-ever national championship appearance.

Admission to the games will be the $5. Lake-Sumter students, faculty, and staff are free with their ID badge.

Live stream video will also be available free of charge to those who cannot attend.

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