By FRANCIS FEDOR
The Stingrays, coming off a big home win vs. Plant City, traveled to Newsome and defeated the Wolves, 4-3, to win their first district title since 2021.
Sumner senior Kendyl Dunne takes a throw as the Raider runner gets back to second, after trying to move up on a hit in district playoff action.
Sumner softball opened district playoffs on April 29 in the Tank vs. Plant City with a resounding 10-2 victory. The ’Rays got off to a good start with a little help from the Raiders’ pitching. Sumner’s first three hitters reached base either by a walk or hit-by-pitch, bringing up Sa’Myra Cameron to the plate. Cameron sent a Gibbs’ pitch through the hole between first and second and cleared the bases, including Cameron’s scoring on the play, to launch the ’Rays to a five-run first inning. The Stingrays batted around in the first inning, sending Plant City starter Kyleigh Gibbs to an early exit, relieved by Kayleigh Gibbs. Sumner generated opportunities against the reliever Gibbs but didn’t convert those chances to runs until the fourth inning, when they added three more runs to pull out to an 8-1 lead. Victoria Bake took the ball to start for the ’Rays and tossed 6.1 innings of two-run softball and set down six Raider hitters by strikeouts. Baker also drove in two runs, going 2-2, including a triple, from the plate and was one of the hit-by-pitch beneficiaries in the first inning. Victoria Rudolph continued to be a key contributor on the offense, going 2-3 with two doubles on the night.
Stingray junior Aliyanis Stubbs and #12 share a light moment during the district semifinal game vs. Plant City.
Sumner players, Aliyanis Stubbs, Victoria Rudolph, Victoria Baker, Sa’Myra Cameron, and Karlee Salisbury, return to the dugout after a bases clearing hit by Cameron against Plant City.
Francis Fedor Photos
Sumner senior Karlee Salisbury celebrates a triple in District semifinal win over Plant City last week.
Sumner carried the momentum of the home win over the Raiders to Lithia to setup a No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed district title matchup. Newsome entered the game coming off a 9-2 drubbing of Alonso in its second-round match-up. As mentioned last week, the ’Rays split the season series vs. Newsome and played well in both of those games, providing another level of confidence in taking the field. The Wolves scored first, plating a run in the first and adding two in the second, but it would be all the scoring on the night for Newsome. The Stingrays were also locked in a pitcher’s duel and didn’t crack the scoreboard until the fifth inning. The ’Rays made the most of five hits, with the key poke being junior star Aliyanis Stubbs’ double that drove in two of Sumner’s four runs. Peyton Joiner was credited with the only other RBI for the Stingrays. Stubbs started the game in the circle and gave way to Victoria Baker in the third inning. Baker picked right up where she had left off on Tuesday night and kept the Wolves off the scoreboard, earning the win and sending Sumner back to state finals.
Stingray junior Victoria Rudolph takes the throw to force out the Raider runner in game action vs. Plant City last week.
The ’Rays will open state playoff action on Thursday, May 8, at 7 p.m. in the Tank vs the 20-5 Riverview Sarasota Rams. The Rams are the No. 3 seed, and the ’Rays enter play as the No. 6 seed. The winner will play the winner of the Newsome (No. 2 seed) vs George Jenkins (No. 7 seed) matchup. A potential state regional semi-final game could see the rival Wolves and the ’Rays play again for the fourth time this season on May 13 with a regional finals berth on the line.
For more South Shore action, look for Steve Jackson’s write-up covering the other South Shore HS games.
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