LEESBURG, Fla. (Softball) – The Lake-Sumter State College (LSSC) softball team concluded the 2023 season on Saturday afternoon after falling to Louisburg College at the South Atlantic District Championship. The Lakehawks finished the season 43-19, the most successful season in program history.
The South Atlantic District Championship was a best-of-three series between the Region 10 champion, No. 2Louisburg College, and the Region 8 champion, No. 20 Lake-Sumter. The Lakehawks and the Hurricanes split Friday's double header to force game three on Saturday.
In a thrilling game three on Saturday afternoon, Lake-Sumter fell to Louisburg in extra innings 6-5 after a solo walk-off homerun by Darrah Nickens in the bottom of the eighth inning. Louisburg punched their ticket to the national championship with two wins over Lake-Sumter.
Game 1 – Lake-Sumter 1, Louisburg 9 (Six innings)
Lake-Sumter took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning of game one, but the lead did not stick. Louisburg tied the game up in the top of the third after a solo homerun by Kasey Lee.
The Hurricanes added two more in the top of the fourth after a couple of hits. Then in the top of the sixth, Louisburg secured the mercy rule win after shortstop Brianna Tucker hit a grand slam.
Ali Shenefield recorded the loss on the mound with 5.1 innings pitched. Shenefield allowed nine runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts.
Game 2 – Lake-Sumter 4, Louisburg 2
The Lakehawks were able to keep the series alive after a game two win.
Pippin put the Lakehawks on the board first in the top of the second inning after laying down a sac bunt to score Raquel Camuglia. Louisburg answered back in bottom half of the inning with a solo homerun from Edi Austin.
Molly Bender added another run to the board to take the lead back after a solo homerun to center field.
Lake-Sumter continued to extend their lead in the top of the fifth after Bender blasted her second homerun of the game over the score board. The Lakehawks won game two 4-2 to force the "if necessary" game three on Saturday afternoon.
Darian Pippin recorded the complete-game win on the mound improving to 17-5 on the season. She allowed just two runs on four hits with three strikeouts.
The Lakehawks gave Louisburg pitcher Kennedy Byrd her first loss of the season, her record moved to 22-1 for the year.
Game 3 – Lake-Sumter 5, Louisburg 6 (8 innings)
Game three was a thrilling battle between the two teams, neither ready to for the season to end.
Desiree Romeo led the game off with a walk followed by a base hit by Bender. With two on, Kreighton Steinke hit a ground ball to shortstop that was fielded deep enough in the hole that allowed Romeo to score the first run of the game.
The Lakehawks added another run in the top of the fourth after Alexis Adams blasted a solo homerun to the right field, her eighth of the season.
The Hurricanes answered Adams's homerun with another solo homerun in the bottom of the fourth. Lake-Sumter still lead 2-1 headed to the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Louisburg scored four runs to take the lead 5-2.
In the top of the sixth, the Lakhawks started chipping away at the lead starting with a two-run homerun by Camuglia, her fourteenth of the season.
In their last chance at bat, still trailing the Hurricanes by one, Makenzi Heaton led of the inning with a solo blast to dead centerfield to tie the game at 5-5.
Lake-Sumter held Louisburg to none in the bottom of the seventh to go into extra innings.
The Hurricanes won by a walk off from Nickens in the bottom of the eighth to punch their ticket to the national tournament in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Pippin was the starting pitcher for the game. She threw 4.0 innings allowing three runs on five hits with two strikeouts.
Mia Lovett threw one inning, allowing two runs on one hit. Both Pippin and Lovett recorded no-decisions.
Shenefield recorded the loss after pitching the last two innings. She allowed just one run with three strikeouts. Shenefield ended the year with an 18-4 record on the mound.
Head coach Jay Miller spoke on the 2023 season, "What a special group! We never talked about winning; we just talked about getting better everyday and being better people and great teammates and that took us one game shy of a trip to the world series."
"I told the team at the beginning of the series, 'All I can ask of you is to empty the tank and leave it all on the field.' Then to fall to the No. 2 team in the country in extra innings of the 'if neccesary' game, they absolutely left it all on the field for each other.
"I am so proud of these girls, my staff, and everyone involved in our program that supported us this season. This progam truly is a family," said Coach Miller.
Lake-Sumter softball finished the year with a 43-19 record, their most successful season to date. The Lakehawks also rewrote the program record book in the 2023 season, both individually and as a team.
As a team, they are now first for runs scored (358), hits (522), RBIs (317), stolen bases (181), and homeruns (53). Additionally, they tied for second in triples (16), third for batting average (.320) and doubles (72).
Bender topped several single-season records including runs scored (69), stolen bases (44), and hits (81).
Camuglia also added her name to the top of the single-season records including RBIs (65) and tied for first in homeruns (14). For her career, she is now first for hits (121).
On the mound, Pippin now leads in career wins (27), strikeouts (191), innings pitched (310.1), and appearances (70).
Shenefield in her one year as a Lakehawk also added her name to the record book. She leads in single-season wins (18), strikeouts (158), and ERA (1.90).
Keep up with the Lakehawks
Academic awards for the 2022-23 school year will be announced throughout the summer months. Be on the lookout to see the Lakehawk student-athletes on those lists.
Follow @LakehawkSports on Twitter, @LakehawkSports on Instagram and Lake-Sumter State College Athletics on Facebook for the latest news with Lakehawk athletics.