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A chat with two state champions: Kelsey and Alex

Randy Lefko
Posted 6/1/17

OAKLEAF - After a sterling region playoff reign of five straight games and a 44-1 runs for and runs against record, the Oakleaf High School softball team came home from Vero Beach’s

Dodgertown …

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A chat with two state champions: Kelsey and Alex


Posted

OAKLEAF - After a sterling region playoff reign of five straight games and a 44-1 runs for and runs against record, the Oakleaf High School softball team came home from Vero Beach’s

Dodgertown Stadim with a Class 8A championship ring.

Two senior members of coach Christina Thompson’s team; senior pitcher Kelsey Sweatt and senior second baseman Alex Acevedo talked about the inside motivations of a season of two losses; one to 9A champ West Orange, and 30 wins.

Sweatt and Acevedo were the nucleus of a team of players that have been together since Oakleaf Junior High; outfielders Destiny Pacetti, Tracey Ferguson and Rebecca Koskey, infielder Mika Garcia with catcher Haley Willis, that have been deep into region play since their freshman years and now their state title. New to the recent lineup were sophomore Baylee Goddard at third base and Bishop Snyder transfer Angela Agurkis, a junior, at first base and sometimes at catcher.

Sweatt, with 27 strikeouts for the five-game series and six in the championship final against Wellington High, a 6-1 title win, also had a fielding play on a bunt play.

“Actually, it feels really weird to have to throw the ball over my head instead of underhand,” said Sweatt, who has been near the 60-65 miles per hour mark throughout the season, but deveoped a powerful changeup for the season. “I didn’t have as many strikeouts as I had last year because I was throwing strikes and making people hit. I was trusting my defense.”

Part of that defense was Acevedo at second base, who was known to come up big with exciting horizontal attacks on grounders and quickness on the basepaths.

“The diving part is just effort and I’ve always been unafraid to get dirty,” said Acevedo. “It hurts a little, but I’m used to it by now. Our whole infield is very competitive and we don’t like letting balls get past us.”

In the state championship game, Acevedo got on base in the first inning and scored one of the Knight’s first two runs for an early 2-0 lead. Part of the Knights’ attackis unrelenting attacks on the basepaths with basestealing and intimidation from the threat of a base steal causing enemy pitchers and infielders to have to hurry their steps to catch the likes of Garcia, Acevedo and Goddard after a hard hit to the infield.

“I’m not really that fast from point to point, but more I’m quick on the base paths,” said Acevedo, who heads to Florida Atlantic University next fall to continue playing. “Baylee (Goddard) hits long balls and homers and is our power hitter. Mika (Garcia) and Destiny (Pacetti) are also very fast on their feet. Angela Agurkis and Katie Kistler, who is probably fastest of all of us, came on strong in the second half of the season.”

Sweatt is heading to University of South Carolina-Upstate, an NCAA Divison I power. Both Sweatt and Acevedo plan to study dentistry.

“I committed in my sophomore year after they approached me after a club nationals tournament,” said Sweatt. “Upstate has had some local players.”

Both players liked the future of the Knights’ team with youngsters returning to fill the gaps of the departed senior standouts.

“The next pitchers; Madi Davis and Cambria Arturo are both very good,” said Sweatt. “We have a sophomore shortstop coming that will be good. Koskey and Angela Agurkis come back as well as Baylee. That’s not a bad returning lineup.”

Acevedo thought Agurkis’ addition to the lineup added another strong bat with freshman Katie Kistler, though small in size, adding a consistent on base potential with her well-placed hits. Agurkis became a big-hit phenom for the Knights with numerous RBI doubles and triples adding points to the Oakleaf scoring.

In the championship game, with a 2-1 first inning lead, Sweatt was surprised at the closeness of the game until the fateful seventh inning.

“We were getting people on base, but they were very good on defense,” said Acevedo. “Their pitcher was young, but had good spin on the ball. She wasn’t as fast as we had anticipated and her pitchers were a little slower in her delivery than what we were used to. That’s takes a little off the bat and we had to make adjustments. It’s harder to hit slower pitches.”

In the heat of the games, Acevedo revealed that in their mound meetings that Sweatt was a little harder to read because of her stoic demeanor.

“When we go to her between innings or after a strikeout or good play, she gets in her zone and doesn’t hear anything we say,” said Acevedo. “We usually give her a “you got this” but we mostly know she doesn’t hear us. In the dugout, Kelsey is very strategy minded in the dugout.”

In preparation for Oakleaf’s long list of big time opponents, Sweatt said the team does some research off press reports and website notes.

“We look at other teams on paper, but not any film,” said Sweatt. “We don’t get film or anything. We kind of know what number has been hitting well lately and who the top pitchers are.”

One of the more comical quips from the pair was about a hard hit from Agurkis that the Wellington outfielder did catch, but Agurkis was unaware of the catch.

“She sprinted all the way and the pitcher was holding the ball and waiting for her to get off of second base,” said Acevedo. “It was a great play by the outfielder.”

One aspect of the team’s strength, according to Acevedo, was coach Christina Thompson’s preseason summer conditioning regimen.

“We did not take any days off over the summer and were not going to take any team lightly,” said Sweatt. “We didn’t have many off days.”

Acevedo thought the collective motivation of the team started in the junior high days with the state title the ultimate goal.

“We all wanted to win state; our senior year was the last shot with no second chances,” said Acevedo. “We had to put everything we had into this senior year; everyday.”