West Orange softball advances to regional championship with 3-0 win over Boone

ORLANDO — Lauren Mathis pitched a complete game shutout and the West Orange Warriors advanced to within one game of the FHSAA Class 8A Final Four on Tuesday with a 3-0 win over the host Boone Braves.

The regional semifinal contest had been a pitchers’ duel between Mathis and Boone ace Chase Cassady until the top of the sixth inning. 

Sam Golden, who bats ninth for the Warriors (28-1), led off the inning with her second hit of the day to spark a three-run rally with Golden, Jade Caraway and Lexie Blair all scoring runs as the visiting team took advantage of some miscues by the hosts.

“(Golden is) not your typical nine-hole hitter,” head coach Todd LaNeave said afterward of his shortstop, who would have been 3-for-3 on the night had a Braves outfielder not made a diving catch in the top of the seventh inning. “I put her there for a reason and it’s for that reason and it works out for us sometimes. … To have somebody like her that can swing it like that at the nine-hole, I think it catches people off-guard.”

Mathis, who tossed a no-hitter her last time out in the district final, credited her teammates for making big plays on the field — including an impressive catch by Caraway in centerfield to register the second-to-last out of the game.

“I was very confident that my defense had my back — they made some spectacular plays for me,” Mathis said.

With the win, West Orange advanced to Friday’s Class 8A Region 1 Championship, which it will host, against the winner of a semifinal to be played between Hagerty and Mandarin (Jacksonville). 

That game was postponed until Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Friday’s game, regardless of the opponent, will begin at 7 p.m. in Winter Garden with Kelsey Morrison as the likely starting pitcher for the Warriors. 

The winner of Friday’s contest will advance to the 2015 FHSAA Softball Finals in Vero Beach. The Class 8A State Semifinals are scheduled for May 8 and the Class 8A State Championship Game is scheduled for May 9.

For the moment, though, LaNeave and his program are excited to be hosting a regional final on their home field.

“I’m excited about it and the girls are excited about it,” LaNeave said. “I don’t recall, at least in the years that I’ve been at West Orange, that we’ve ever hosted a regional final. We’ve played in a couple, but having the opportunity to host a game, — it’s pretty thrilling.”