Key West’s dynamic pitching duo of Brianna Brenner and Ryleigh Harnish delivered another one-two punch last week.
The junior hurlers shut out the Dolphins in Marathon on March 24, picking up an 11-0 mercy rule win over the Fins.
Brenner started in the circle, striking out seven, walking one and allowing two hits over four innings. Harnish fanned two and surrendered one hit in one inning of work, for the Lady Conchs’ fifth shutout of the season.
Aaliyah McLeod and Shylo Sanchez each delivered a pair of doubles while Lucy Katz and Kaleya Cervantes each singled twice. Arianna Garcia, Maicee Gage and Lilee Gage had one hit each. Lilee’s went yard for a two-run home run. Maicee Gage and Cervantes each stole a base in the commanding win.
Marathon’s Maeve Merryman had two singles and extended them with a pair of stolen bases; eighth-grader Sutton Sayer added the final hit for Marathon. Sayer took over pitching duties in the second inning for three and one-third innings of solid work.
Prior to their matchup with Key West, Marathon made the trip to Ransom Everglades for a four-inning 24-4 slugfest. Trinity McLeod and Ana Boose had three hits and four RBIs each while Kayla Skaarup and Sara and Shaina Robinson logged two hits each. The Fins finished with 17 hits and 14 walks in the mercy-rule win. Sutton Sayer earned the win with six strikeouts and just two hits surrendered to the Raiders.
Marathon’s loss to Key West certainly did not define their week, as they got back to their hard-hitting ways against the Spartans of Miami Country Day. The Fins compiled eight hits, 10 walks and six hit batters to fuel their offense in the 17-2 win. Shaina Robinson had three hits and McLeod logged two while Merryman, Skaarup and Boose added one each to the total. Boose struck out nine and walked one in the three-inning mercy-rule win that put the Dolphins at 8-3 with just under three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Key West also continued their winning ways after their contest with Marathon. The Lady Conchs picked up two more wins on March 28 and 29 against a visiting St. John Neumann. In game one, freshman Charlie Bracher ended the game early with a grand slam home run that gave the team enough points to invoke the mercy rule. Bracher ended the day with three hits, including the home run and a pair of doubles to lead the offense. Cervantes, Katz and Sanchez logged two hits each and Lilee Gage and Aaliyah McLeod had one. McLeod’s was a three-run homer to left field. Brenner fanned four, walked none and surrendered four hits and one unearned run over six innings of work in the 13-1 victory.
In game two, Garcia had the hot bat with three hits to her credit. McLeod, Katz, Bracher and Sanchez had two apiece and Lilee and Maicee Gage logged one hit each, with Maicee’s being a triple. Harnish ruled in the circle, tossing seven innings and striking out eight. Harnish walked one and allowed five hits and two runs in the team’s 8-2 win.
Now 11-4, the Lady Conchs are ranked sixth in the region and will face the No. 5 team in the coming weeks. The April 17 and 18 matchups with the Lake Wales Highlanders should prove to be a litmus test for the postseason, during which Key West has all the tools to make a deep run.
Coral Shores improved to 5-2 after defeating Lourdes Academy 3-2 in their single home matchup last week on March 26. Addison Grady went 3-3 with a double and two RBIs to lead the offense for the Hurricanes. Mira Jones had two base hits and Bayley Catarineau and Alyvia Prince accounted for the rest of the ’Canes’ seven hits. Pressley Bagwell struck out six in five and one-third innings and Prince finished things out in the circle for Coral Shores. Both teams’ scoring ended at the close of the third inning, making for a defensive battle in which the Hurricanes’ error-free play secured the win.
