Offense Leads 'Naughts To Class 6A Final Four

WINTER GARDEN | Pitching carried Lakeland into the playoffs, but it was the offense that took the Dreadnaughts the rest of the way to the state tournament.

An offensive juggernaut in its last three playoff victories, Lakeland destroyed West Orange's pitching in a 13-4 victory Saturday afternoon in the deciding game of the Class 6A regional finals.

The Dreadnaughts (24-9) are headed to the state tournament for the first time since 2001 and will play Park Vista on Friday in Sarasota.

"It's unbelievable,'' senior catcher Daniel Rockhold said. "We kind of joked about (reaching state) a little bit that it would be great, but never in a million years.''

In its last three playoff victories, Lakeland has outscored its opponents, 30-12, and piled up 37 hits, including 15 hits Saturday. Lakeland also supported pitcher Drew Hutchison with errorless defense.

"We executed well,'' Lakeland coach Mike Campbell said. "As bad as we played for about three innings yesterday (Friday), we played that well today.''

Rockhold paced the Dreadnaughts in the deciding game. He went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double. In the three games against the Warriors, he was 4-for-12 with eight RBIs.

"It's been great,'' Rockhold said. "I don't even know what hit me. The last part of the season, I've just been hot. I don't know what happened.''

Taylor Wrenn continued to be a tough out. He went 2-for-3 before being intentionally walked in his final two at-bats to finish the series 8-for-10, raising his batting average 41 points to .398.

A lineup change also paid off for the Dreadnaughts. Campbell dropped struggling third baseman Yordi Cabrera to eighth in the order, and the sophomore responded with three hits and three RBIs.

"Yordi relaxed a little bit,'' Campbell said. "We moved Erik (Barber) up (to cleanup). He's too young to realize how important that spot is.''

Lakeland got off to a strong start against the Warriors. Rockhold's two-run double highlighted a six-run first inning when the Dreadnaughts sent 11 batters to the plate and finished with seven hits in the inning.

"Putting a six-spot on the board in the first inning doesn't hurt your morale,'' Campbell said. "That was pretty big.''

Rockhold's two-run homer in the second put Lakeland up, 8-0, more than enough for Hutchison.

West Orange tried to chip its way back in the game with a run in the second, two in the third and one in the fifth. Lakeland, however, manufactured a run in both the fifth and sixth innings to maintain a six-run lead.

"Those are momentum changes,'' Campbell said. "We couldn't sit back."

Lakeland ended all doubt with three more runs on just one hit in the seventh.