Land O' Lakes All-Stars Win Sectionals

The looks said it all, with long faces in the Land O’ Lakes Junior Softball All-Stars dugout transformed into happy smiles during the team’s turnaround at the Section 4 Championships in Haines City.

Held scoreless for the first six innings of Sunday’s series opener against North Lakeland, Land O’ Lakes rallied in its final at-bat for a 2-1 comeback victory. The rematch was a lot easier, with Land O’ Lakes posting a 10-0 shutout to capture the title at the East Park Softball Complex.

“I think our girls finally woke up,” Land O’ Lakes manager Steve Taylor said. “That was my favorite game the whole year, I’m not going to kid myself.”

Land O’ Lakes advances to the state tournament, which begins Friday in Windermere. Land O’ Lakes plays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. that day, with other games determined by wins and losses in the first round.

While the first game against North Lakeland could not have been closer, Land O’ Lakes dominated in the second contest, which ended after five innings due to the 10-run mercy rule. Land O’ Lakes scored four runs in the first and never looked back.

“I think (that early scoring outburst) took the wind out of their sails,” Taylor said.

Baylee Jennings drove in Sydney Grant with a single before scoring on a wild pitch in that first inning. Land O’ Lakes’ other runs came when Bianca Sanchez and Kelsey Taylor scored on North Lakeland errors.

Land O’ Lakes added a couple unearned runs in the second before Jessica Haney raced home on Cassidy Kallenborn’s groundout with Kallenborn scoring on an errant pickoff attempt in the third. Nikki Taylor doubled in that inning but was left stranded.

In the fourth, Kallenborn hit a run-scoring single to highlight a two-run inning. Land O’ Lakes clinched the game as well as the sectional crown by holding North Lakeland scoreless in the fifth.

As for the first game, Land O’ Lakes’ offense was nowhere near as proficient as it was in the second contest. Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh, the local all-star team rallied on walks to Kelsey Taylor and Hannah Stigleman. Kallenborn drove in Kelsey Taylor with a single and Stigleman scored the game-winner on a wild pitch.

“We never got nervous,” the manager said.

Rounding out the Land O’ Lakes roster were Kayley Renslow and Hannah Flink, along with coaches Jeff Jennings and Kip Kallenborn.

Three other teams from Land O’ Lakes competed in sectionals last weekend, but none of those all-star squads advanced to the championship round. The 9-10, 10-11 and 11-12 teams saw their seasons end after each claimed a district title.