Lakewood Ranch falters in district baseball title game losing 10-0 to Sarasota
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Nearly every kid who grows up playing baseball in the area knows about Sarasota High.
The Sailors are a nationally touted program and perennial state contender who has won eight state titles, including six under current head coach Clyde Metcalf.
All that history can get into an opponent's head.
It sure looked that way for host Lakewood Ranch, which was crushed 10-0 in the Class 8A-District 8 championship game Thursday night. The game was called after five innings because of the 10-run mercy rule.
The Mustangs (17-10) played one of their worst games of the season. The last time they played this bad was against Sarasota in the Sarasota Classic when they committed seven errors in a 8-4 loss.
"It's frustrating because we worked all season long and to have a game like this is so disappointing," Lakewood Ranch head coach Ryan Kennedy said. "This wasn't expected. I thought it would be a lot closer and a good game."
It was a competitive game until the floodgates opened for Sarasota in the fourth inning. The Sailors scored eight runs to take a 10-0 lead. Sarasota sent 12 batters to the plate, combined five hits with two walks and took advantage of two dropped fly balls in the outfield. Usually reliable center fielder Trevor Losada dropped a fly ball that allowed two runs to score and the Sailors had two doubles and triple off starter Matt Ambrosino, who was lifted in the inning.
"We had some dropped balls and miscommunication and you can't let that happen especially with a team like Sarasota," Kennedy said. "They are going to take advantage of it and sure enough
they did. It was like a merry-go-round out there."
Sarasota (20-6) got a run in the first when Nick Derr singled, stole second and scored on a single by Nick Lane. The Sailors added another in the second when Adam Imwalle doubled and scored on a single by Cole Madden.
Besides being sloppy in the field and struggling with its pitching Lakewood Ranch couldn't take advantage of putting runners on base in every inning. Sarasota starting pitcher Brooks Larson, who left after the fourth, shut the Mustangs down.
"It was a competitive game early and Brooks did a great job. He was very efficient with his pitches, only threw 14 in the first two innings," Metcalf said. "In the fourth inning we hit some balls really hard that they didn't hang onto. We were very fortunate to be the beneficiary of that and then we got some clutch hits."
Losada was hit by a pitch and eventually stranded on third in the first inning. Ambrosino singled to lead off the second and reached second before Cole Campbell lined into a double play to end the inning.
"In baseball these things happen and unfortunately for us it happened in the district championship, but the bright side is that we have a game next week," Kennedy said. "We have a lot of time to prepare and we are going to get after it, go over our mistakes and move forward."
Lakewood Ranch will be on the road Wednesday in its regional quarterfinal round game. If the Mustangs win they could get a rematch with Sarasota in the region semifinal on May 3.
"Nothing went for us tonight. We just got unlucky, but that is baseball and we will battle and hopefully see them again," Kennedy said.
Alan Dell, Herald sports columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Lakewood Ranch falters in district baseball title game losing 10-0 to Sarasota ."