North wins regional playoff game
Things didn’t go exactly according to plan for the North Fort Myers softball team Wednesday night.
It didn’t matter, however, as the Red Knights rolled to an 8-1 victory over Lely in the Region 6A-3 Quarterfinal round of the state playoffs.
The Red Knights (22-2) are home on Tuesday against Barron Collier, which downed Mariner 3-1 in the semifinal round.
Catcher Shelby Coyne went 4-for-4 at the plate for North, including a two-run triple, and three RBI.
Coach Tony Vodola had to make a lineup change before Wednesday’s game, and another early in the contest. The Red Knights made the necessary adjustments and took care of business against the Trojans.
Third baseman Marion Reed showed up at Bobbie Dewey Field with her right arm in a sling. Then designated player Melinda Thirion was injured running out a single in her first at-bat.
“Things started off a little bit different,” Vodola said. “We had our third baseman, prior to the start of the game, she hurt her arm and we found out then and there. Then Melinda goes out.
“You’ve lost two starters that give you a comfort level, but I’ve got to tell you, other kids came in, they stepped up. They shook off the jitters. I think they had a little bit of jitters. I think any time you change at the last minute, players look around. I think what they did was they accepted it and handled it, and then they got a little more comfortable as the game goes on.”
Sarah Giompalo played third base for Reed, and took over running the bases and at bat for Thirion.
“We’re a pretty clumsy team and we get hurt a lot,” Coyne said. “So it didn’t really bother us. We knew that we had somebody in the line that would back her up and pick us up.”
Lely (17-11) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Sivan Palacios scored on Katie Moss’ groundout.
“We had to deal with a different style of pitcher,” Vodola said of Lely’s Rebecca Gates. “She threw a lot of outside stuff. She threw a lot of changes and we had to make some adjustments. The game is won – I keep telling them – between the ears. It’s not emotion. You’ve got to look at things. They made things happen for themselves.”
The Red Knights put three on the board in the second inning. Mackenzie Peterson scored on an RBI groundout before Jessie Valerius doubled in two runs. Coyne singled in two runs in the fifth inning.
Sajarie Jones doubled home Valerius and came home on Coyne’s triple in the sixth. Jones and Valerius had two hits each.
Peterson held the Trojans scoreless after the first inning, earning the complete-game victory.
“Mackenzie’s kept us in every game,” Vodola said. “She continues to do that and the battery stays strong, we’ll be OK.”
North has revenge and then some for Barron Collier in their next game, which was sheduled for Tuesday night. That’s besides the obvious desire of advancing in the state playoffs.
To begin with, the Cougars knocked North out in the first round of the playoffs a year ago in what would be the final game for Red Knights coach John Keyes, who passed away last October.
If that isn’t enough reason, BC edged North 1-0 in a nine-inning game during the regular season, one of only two Red Knights losses.
“This season’s definitely been for Coach John,” Coyne said before the game. “We really wanted this rematch because we really wanted to show him – he’s always out there watching us – that we can go far. We can end up in the final four and win.
“We just want to show who we really are, and make sure that everyone knows that we’re not just some podunk school from North Fort Myers. We definitely wanted this rematch, and we really wanted it for Coach John. He knows that we can do a lot better than we did last year.”
“They have a vision,” Vodola said of his team. “They want to be some place. They’re going to know their true destiny. I know that they’re going to give 100 percent. The next game is going to be a nice game for us. We’ve got a chance to play a very strong opponent. You’re going to see two good teams square off, and everybody’s looking forward to it, including us.”
Barron Collier 3, Mariner 1: Amanda Myers singled in the sixth inning to break up a no-hitter in Wednesday’s Region 6A-3 Quarterfinal playoffs at Barron Collier.
Abby Love, who had Mariner’s other base hit in the sixth, later scored its only run on an error in a loss to the Cougars, who advance to the Region 6A-3 Semifinals next week. Hannah Holloway (20-7) took the loss on the mound despite a good effort in allowing three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.
The Tritons season ends with a 22-7 record while the Cougars travel to North Fort Myers for the semifinals on Tuesday.
District 4A-5: Five errors proved fatal for Oasis Wednesday night in a 6-1 loss to Bishop Verot in the district semifinals.
The win sends Verot into Friday’s district championship game for a 1-2 seed matchup against Cardinal Mooney, which eliminated Gateway Charter 13-1 in five innings Wednesday.
Dennis Talarico (2-3) was saddled with the defeat for Oasis even though he allowed just two hits and one earned run over four innings. The Sharks (9-13) were held to just three hits on the night.
Nick Oliveira had one of those hits that drove in the Sharks’ lone run.
Sports Editor Jim Linette contributed to this report