Many sports fans like to show up fashionably late to a game, a criticism often thrown at fans of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Those fans have a reputation for showing up after a few innings have passed, but they don’t always miss much.
Anyone who tries that at a Strawberry Crest softball game runs the risk of missing the whole thing.
It hasn’t been the best start in program history, but the Lady Chargers aren’t off by much: They have the same 12-1 record at this point in the 2014 season as they did in 2013, but have only scored 143 runs so far — just shy of the 149 they put up last year.
It makes perfect sense, though: For the most part, this is the exact same team that Crest fielded last year.
“We have seven seniors this year,” head coach Mindy Miltner says. “This is an older, more mature team that’s been playing together for quite a while now, and they’re comfortable.”
“Comfortable” sounds about right, especially when looking at the numbers on offense.
THE SISTERS OF SWAT
There are only two girls on the team who have a batting average in the .200s, and only one of them — Ashton Sparkman, batting a respectable .280 — has seen more than 10 at-bats. The next-lowest average belongs to Megan Reed, who is batting .303 with 13 RBI and three home runs — figures good enough to lead at least a few Tampa Bay-area teams.
“Our lineup is deadly,” Miltner says. “We’ve got power and speed. Our lefty slappers can bunt for a base hit.”
Seniors Mia Fung and Cacey Simmons, in particular, are the offense’s best examples of both its power and speed. These girls can swat their fair share of dingers out of the park or hit safely to first and burn up the basepaths when necessary.
Fung leads all batters with 23 runs, 20 hits, six doubles, six stolen bases and four dingers. She’s also batting .513 — good for the second-highest average on the team (minimum 10 at-bats). Simmons’ 17 RBI and four triples lead the team, and she’s also batting .471 with 17 runs, 16 hits, five steals and three homers.
Simmons hit two of those three homers last weekend, and four of her teammates joined her with one apiece.
“There aren’t any weak spots that I can see in the lineup,” Miltner says.
The pitching’s been great, too. Senior Sammy Tyler and sophomore Scottie Todd have been nearly lights-out this season — only Tyler has a loss on her record, but their combined ERA is 0.57. Tyler has 70 strikeouts over 50.1 innings of work, and Todd has fanned 27 batters over 23.1 innings.
Tyler gave up four of her five earned runs in that loss, which was a 6-3 Valentine’s Day upset by Bloomingdale, but got her revenge in the Sarasota Slam.
SARASOTA SLAM
Last weekend’s Sarasota Slam tournament was huge for these girls — not only because it’s a pretty good tournament, but also because there were two games on the schedule that they were just itching to play.
First and foremost, on March 14, they played in a doubleheader with Gulf Coast and Lakewood Ranch. Gulf Coast got destroyed, 19-2, but that second game meant so much more. After all, Lakewood Ranch was the team that ended Crest’s 2013 postseason in the semifinals.
So, yes, the seniors had this one circled on their calendars. And this time was different.
“It was my favorite game (so far),” senior left fielder Sarah Rowley says. “We left 14 runners on base, and it was a difficult game, so when we beat them, it was really good.”
Simmons, Kasey Locke and Aly Massessa each hit a homer and two RBI in that game to provide the cushion. Sammy Tyler allowed six hits, but no earned runs, in a 10-strikeout performance.
The next day, the Lady Chargers again had a doubleheader. The girls began with a 6-0 win over Hardee and then came the rematch with Bloomingdale. Crest had a 5-0 lead going into the fifth inning, when a sudden, seven-run explosion sealed the deal. Fung and Simmons combined for six RBI, four hits, four runs, three doubles, and a homer from Fung’s bat. Megan Reed, with her only hit of the game, smacked a two-run homer, as well.
Tyler wasn’t exactly mowing the Lady Bulls down in that game, ending with three strikeouts but only giving up four hits and one walk.
THE FUTURE IS BRIGHT
With nearly the exact same lineup from last year, the Lady Chargers’ confidence is flying high.
The only problem that Crest has faced is the loss of senior third baseman Trystan Reibsome to an ACL injury, which happened in the Plant City game. But sophomore Kasey Locke, normally a designated hitter, has been filling in ever since and, according to Miltner, playing well. Limiting injuries, she adds, will be one of the keys to success this season.
The girls are just keeping positive and trying not to jump too far ahead.
“We’re taking it one game at a time,” Rowley says. “Trying to stay humble, but we’re hungry. There are seven of us seniors, and we want to leave with the best year we can possibly have.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.