Myah Moy's bases-loaded homer sparks Braden River to district softball title
RUSKIN -- As Braden River's leadoff hitter and fastest runner, Myah Moy's job is to get on base and cause havoc.
The junior second baseman tried a little different approach when she used her bat to create a little mayhem and spark the Pirates to the Class 7A-District 9 softball title with a 14-6 victory against Armwood on Thursday at Lennard High School.
Moy slugged the first grand slam of her high school career in the second inning to give Braden River a 5-0 lead and propel the Pirates to their first district title since 2013.
"The pitch was inside and I really like inside pitches so I just hit it," Moy said. "I am a leadoff hitter, but I just try to time it up. This is my last year playing with all these seniors and it really feels good to know we have the title together."
It was Moy's third homer of the season, but it enabled her to take over the team lead in RBIs with 36 and improved her batting average to a team-leading .602.
"How much more can you say about Myah, the kid is a fighter. She started the season real slow and is now erupting," Lakewood Ranch head coach Melissa Dowling said. "She is a defensive genius. She has home run power, but is our leadoff hitter and I want my leadoff hitter to get on base and she's been doing that all season."
Moy just missed hitting for the cycle. She doubled and scored in the fourth and singled and scored in the fifth.
The Pirates (20-2) hit two homers and now have 18 for the season. Sarah Crawford got things started in the second when she broke a scoreless tie in the second with her team leading seventh homer and had an RBI single in fifth to give her 31 runs-batted-in for the season.
Bethaney Keen, the Pirates first baseman and USF commit, drove in four runs with a two-run triple in the fourth and a two run double in the fifth to push her season RBI total to 35.
"We won the district when I was a freshman and that was big for me because coming into high school you want to feel what it's like to win," Keen said. "Ending my senior year, with another district title captures the year perfectly, but we are not done yet. We have regionals and hopefully states."
Ali Yawn started for the Pirates and struggled with her control, but she came through with three hits. Brooke Farrow had three hits, including an RBI triple and a double, and Zaire Yancy had two run-scoring singles.
This is the first district championship in Dowling's first year as a head coach. She brought prominence to the Lakewood Ranch program as a player.
"This is awesome. I couldn't work with a better group of 13 kids. I am so honored to have the privilege to be the head coach of this program," Dowling said. "Our pitchers were not hitting the strike zone, but we scored a lot of runs, which we normally do. Lexi Phelps came in and did a great job in relief. She did exactly what we asked her to do by keeping the ball in play and let our defense do its job."
The Pirates will be home Wednesday for the first time in the playoffs in their region quarterfinal.
Alan Dell, Herald sports writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports.
This story was originally published April 14, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Myah Moy's bases-loaded homer sparks Braden River to district softball title ."