Academy at the Lakes was the 7-1 winner over Tampa Catholic when they last played one another back in February, but their luck changed this time around. The Academy at the Lakes Wildcats took an 11-8 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Tampa Catholic Crusaders on Wednesday. Academy at the Lakes has now taken an 'L' in back-to-back games.
Shannon Kendall was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out eight batters over five innings while giving up five earned (and one unearned) runs off four hits. Kendall has been consistent recently: she hasn't pitched less than five innings in three consecutive pitching appearances. Kendall was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI.
In other batting news, Juliana Ries was cooking despite her team's loss, scoring two runs and stealing two bases while going 2-for-5. Alexis Gattuso was another key contributor, going 2-for-2 with an RBI.
Even though they lost, Academy at the Lakes didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 11 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Tampa Catholic only tossed five.
On Tampa Catholic's side, Olivia Ricciardi spent all seven innings played on the mound, and it's clear why: she surrendered only one earned (and seven unearned) runs on ten hits.
At the plate, the team relied heavily on Josslyn Grimsley, who fired off three home runs, four runs, and four RBI while going 3-for-3. The team also got some help courtesy of Brooke O'Gradney, who went 2-for-3 with a home run and three runs.
Academy at the Lakes' loss dropped their record down to 14-10. As for Tampa Catholic, the win was the fourth in a row for them, bringing their record for this year to 8-5.
Academy at the Lakes will get a bit of extra time to process the loss as their next game is a ways off. They'll take on Academy of the Holy Names at 6:00 p.m. on April 25th. As for Tampa Catholic, they will be playing in front of their home fans against Land O' Lakes at 6:00 p.m. on Tuesday.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
