Ranch’s Meyer wins award, hits walk-off in softball district final

Mackenzie Meyer needed to warm up a bit earlier than normal ahead of Thursday’s Class 8A-District 8 softball championship.

Along with teammate Denali Schappacher, Meyer was one of three Lakewood Ranch High School seniors scheduled to receive the Lakewood Legend award for her exemplary volunteering, community service and success at the school.

Part of that volunteer and community service work included time spent with the Manasota Miracle League, where she spread her love for the sport with disabled children.

That gives her perspective, no matter the score, when she suits up for the Mustangs each game.

And on Thursday, she delivered in the biggest way.

Meyer smacked a walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth inning to lift state-ranked Lakewood Ranch past visiting Sarasota, 2-1, to earn a region quarterfinal home game against Clearwater Countryside on Wednesday.

“(Miracle League volunteering) was very impactful, because it made me realize how important the game is to me and how not everybody is able to play it,” said Meyer, who is Lakewood Ranch’s student government association vice president. “And that how it’s a privilege (that) I’m able to come out here every day and practice and throw and hit. And games like (Thursday), where I’m able to do something like that.”

Prior to the extra-inning heroics, Lakewood Ranch (25-2) was stuck in neutral with its bats.

Sarasota’s Lexi Albero quieted the mighty Mustangs for 5 1/3 innings, before Amanda Bush took over. The two produced contrasting styles, with Albero firing more rise balls and Bush tossing more drop balls.

“They have seen them twice now, and knew where their spots were that they could be successful with them,” Sarasota head coach Missi Smith said.

Consequently, Lakewood Ranch was limited to one run over seven innings as opposed to the 14 runs the Mustangs produced cumulatively in two regular-season victories over the Sailors (14-11).

That lone run came in the bottom of the fourth inning when Morgan Cummins doubled down the left field line, and Logan Newton followed with a run-scoring double off the left-center field fence.

Newton was also stellar from the pitcher’s circle. She allowed a solo home run to Emily Campbell in the first inning, but was spotless after that. She retired 20 straight batters, and 22 of 24, to close the game.

“She thrives in pressure situations,” Lakewood Ranch head coach Maggie Sharrer said. “She wants to be the one to get the job done.”

As Newton, who struck out eight and allowed just two hits, mowed down Sarasota’s bats and the game moved into extra innings, Lakewood Ranch’s bats got going.

Schappacher began the charge with a one-out grounder up the middle that evaded Bush’s outstretched glove.

As Lakewood Ranch’s leadoff hitter, Schappacher comes equipped with speed, too. And her legs were vital to beat an attempted put-out at second base off Avery Goelz’s grounder to second baseman Hannah Roberson.

That set the stage for Meyer’s heroics.

She said she had to come up with a game plan to face Bush at the end, because she swung at pitches earlier in the game that weren’t in her wheelhouse.

“I wanted to find my perfect pitch,” Meyer said.

She took two strikes, before ripping a big cut at Bush’s payoff pitch.

A long fly ball took Sarasota left fielder Sarah Mizen-Halperin to the wall, but her mistimed leap allowed the ball to rattle off the fence and Schappacher, who finished 2 for 4 at the plate, easily scored the game-winning run.

“I saw that pitch and it was right in my zone, and I just knew that I would be able to hit,” Meyer said.

Maddie Koczersut (double) also led Lakewood Ranch’s offense.

This story was originally published April 28, 2017 at 12:04 AM with the headline "Ranch’s Meyer wins award, hits walk-off in softball district final."