FRIDAY
Softball
Class 6A-Region 3 championship
Parrish 4, Mitchell 3
PARRISH – PARRISH – Parrish Community High rallied from a three-run deficit on Friday night to capture their third straight region crown with a 4-3 victory over the Mitchell Mustangs.
The Bulls (26-3) will now move on to their third straight State Final Four at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, where they will play an opponent to be determined. The state’s four Class 6A region champions will be reseeded to determine who plays who in the state semifinals, scheduled for next Friday at 10 a.m. and noon.
Parrish’s two previous Final Four appearances resulted in back-to-back Class 5A state championships in 2023 and 2024. The win over the team from New Port Richey on Friday night gave the Bulls the Class 6A-Region 3 title.
The Bulls found themselves down 3-0 after the Mustangs pushed across three runs in the top of the third inning on three doubles and a single.
After going hitless through three innings, Parrish got after Mitchell freshman right-hander Savannah Toukaty by smacking six straight hits to lead off the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 3-3.
“Some time during the fourth inning, I got everybody together and told them we had to stick together for this,” said Parrish head coach Erin Spivey. “We came out and banged out some hits, and boom, there we are.”
Parrish second baseman Alysa Jones got things started with a single to lead off the fourth. Singles by catcher Cassidy Ott and first baseman Hannah Lewis loaded the bases with nobody out.
Sophomore third baseman Mackenzie Pandelo then delivered the big hit of the inning in the form of a two-run double. An RBI single by sophomore center fielder Madelina Chapman tied the game at 3-3.
The score remained the same until the Bulls scored an unearned run on a ground ball off the bat of freshman Kinsley Cameron in the bottom of the sixth inning for the winning margin.
Sophomore right-hander Emmaline Van Beck went the distance for Parrish. Van Beck allowed nine hits and walked six Mustangs. She also struck out seven batters.
“We are a young and fun team,” Spivey said. “They are just finding their own way. I couldn’t be more proud of them. They are the comeback kids.”
– Jim Brockman
THURSDAY
Softball
Class 7A-Region 3 championship
Sarasota 8, Sumner 3
SARASOTA – The Sarasota High softball team celebrated the 10th anniversary of winning its second regional title by capturing its third.
Next stop for head coach Heather Mushrush’s team is Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, site of this year’s state championships, after the host Sailors subdued visiting Sumner, 8-3, on Thursday night to claim the Class 7A-Region 3 title.
Sarasota (21-17) now must wait until Friday, May 23 to face Hagerty, a 10-7 winner over Lake Brantley in their regional final, in one 7A semifinal. The championship game is Saturday, May 24.
In 2015 the Sailors, coached by Amy Nye, finished the season 26-7, losing to St. Thomas Aquinas in the state semifinal round. The 1999 Sailor team not only won the regional title, the squad brought the school its only state softball crown. On Thursday the 2025 edition ensured a return visit by breaking open the game with a five-run second inning.
The key hit was a bases-clearing double by Ashlan Guengerich, which increased Sarasota’s lead to 4-0 after a bases-loaded walk by Sumner starter and loser Victoria Baker to Sommer Speers had put the Sailors up 1-0. Mady Pint (2-for-3, run, 3 RBI) added a sacrifice fly to increase the Sarasota lead to 6-0.
Two Sailor errors helped the Stingrays score two runs off Sarasota starter Tyler Sciesinski in the top of the third, cutting the Sailor lead to 6-2. Sumner plated another run in the top of the fourth before Sarasota created some breathing room with two runs in its half of the frame. Pint knocked in one of the runs with a double, one of six Sarasota two-baggers in the game.
After Sciesinski worked the first four innings, allowing five hits and three Stingray runs, Gemma Mulhollen came on to hurl the final three frames, giving up two hits with three strikeouts.
After losing the district final to Venice, Sarasota rallied to defeat Venice in the first round of regionals, defeated No. 1 seed and host East Ridge in the semifinals, then ended Sumner’s season in front of a loud gathering of Sailor fans.
“Our big word this year has been ‘resilience’,” Mushrush said. “We’re resilient on the field that when something goes (wrong), we come right back and get back up. Getting beat by Venice (in the district final), it hurt. It sucked. You don’t want to go out like that.
“But (now) it’s kind of like, ‘All right, no pressure, we’ve never been here before so what do we have to lose?’’’ she said. “We face huge competition, and I think if we can keep on this high, I think we’ll do all right. This is the first time any of us have been there. This has just been incredible. We’ve had some slow spots throughout the year, but this is exactly when you want to peak.”
– Doug Fernandes
WEDNESDAY
Softball
Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal
Sarasota 8, East Ridge 7
AT: East Ridge
TOP PLAYERS _ (S): Sommer Speers 1-3, 2B, 2 runs, RBI; Ashlan Guengerich 3-4, 2B, run, 2 RBI; Mady Pint 2-4, 2 2B, RBI; Tyler Sciesinski 1-2, 2B, 2 RBI; WP-Gemma Mulhollen (3.2 inns., 4 hits, 2 runs, 4 strikeouts)
NEXT: Sarasota hosts Sumner, Thursday, 7 pm, regional championship
TUESDAY
Softball
Class 6A-Region 3 semifinal
Parrish 1, Steinbrenner 0
PARRISH – A battle between starting pitchers finally came to an end after 8 1/3 innings on Tuesday night in a Class 6A-Region 3 semifinal game.
Parrish right-hander Emmaline Van Beck and Steinbrenner’s Lilly Patton locked horns in a scoreless tie before Kyndal France’s single with one out in the ninth inning knocked in Baylee Fields for Parrish’s 1-0 walk-off victory and a berth in the regional championship.
The Bulls will host Mitchell High (23-6) of New Port Richey in the title game. The contest is currently scheduled for Thursday night at 7. But because Parrish has graduation on Thursday night, the school plans to ask Mitchell if the game can be moved to Friday night.
Van Beck was dominant through eight innings, allowing just a leadoff single by Steinbrenner’s Sophie Luances in the top of the fourth. The sophomore struck out 10 and walked six.
“Emmaline has definitely been a surprise,” Parrish head coach Erin Spivey said. “She has worked really hard. She is really coming into her own being able to move the ball around with her pitches. She has been able to focus on what she is doing. She’s been phenomenal on the mound for us all season.”
France’s hit was only the third of the game for the Bulls. Parrish’s other two hits came off the bat of second baseman Alysa Jones, who doubled in the first inning and singled in the seventh.
“Kyndal is a fierce competitor,” Spivey said. “That’s what I love so much about her. She’s not scared to do anything.” In addition to tossing a three-hitter for the Warriors, Patton struck out six Bulls and walked two.
Parrish is the two-time Class 5A defending state champion.
“I am super-proud of my young team,” Spivey said. “We’ve got mostly sophomores on the field. For them to come together and do what they have done all season after moving up a classification shows all the hard work they have put in.”
– Jim Brockman
Class 7A-Region 3 semifinal
Tuesday’s game between Sarasota and East Ridge was postponed until Wednesday night due to an unplayable field at East Ridge.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: HS roundup: Parrish softball team edges Mitchell, 4-3, to win Class 6A-Region 3 championship
Reporting by Doug Fernandes, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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