By Kyle LoJacono
Staff Writer
Sunlake High School only opened in 2007, but its softball team believes it can bring home its first district championship in program history.
“That’s the goal,” said Seahawks coach John Dawkins. “We want to at least finish first or second in our district so that we make the regional playoffs, but our first goal is to win our district tournament. It won’t be easy because River Ridge is one of the best teams in Pasco County, but I think we have the talent to do it.”
Sunlake (7-4) plays in Class 4A, District 8 with such schools as Land O’ Lakes High, Wiregrass Ranch High, Zephyrhills High and River Ridge High, which started the season 10-1.
The Seahawks had a game against Citrus High March 15, but results were not available at press time.
Last season the Seahawks finished 16-10 and won the first district tournament game in school history, but was unable to reach the playoffs.
“We’re very well rounded,” said Dawkins, who has been the only softball coach at the school. “We can pitch, play defense and we have good speed. We need to hit for a little more power, but I think we’ll be able to do that by the end of the season.”
The team captain for Sunlake is Alex Rogers. The junior grew up playing centerfield, but switched to shortstop to fill the team’s need.
“I played shortstop as a freshman and for a lot of last season,” Rogers said. “I’ll play wherever my team needs me to.”
Her attitude has been noticed by the rest of the team.
“She accepted the move without any hesitation because she wanted to do what was best for the team,” said assistant Jordan Rump. “That’s the kind of player and person she is.”
Rogers is leading the team with 20 runs scored and eight steals. She also has 15 hits, six runs batted in (RBI) and a .484 batting average through the Seahawks’ first 11 games.
Much of the Seahawks power this year has come from freshman Stephanie Frances, who has the team’s only homerun and has a team-high 13 RBI, 18 hits 15 runs scored and a .600 batting average.
Moving to the pitching mound, the Seahawks had just one pitcher last season, Meghan Durbin.
“I pitched in 27 games last year and it was a lot of pressure,” Durbin, sophomore, said. “I knew if I had a bad game no one else would be able to come in and help.”
Fortunately for Durbin’s throwing arm, junior pitcher Tyler Riendeau moved to Land O’ Lakes for this school year.
“I’ve tried to help Meghan where I can because I have more experience, but we have very different styles,” Riendeau said. “I throw harder and Meghan is a little more crafty. Hopefully I’ve been able to help her on the mound this year.”
Riendeau has pitched for six years and throws a fastball, dropball, knuckleball and cutter.
Durbin started pitching when she was 8 and throws a fastball, changeup, dropball, screwball and curveball. She is also the libro on the Sunlake volleyball team.
“Meghan had 16 wins last season and I bet that will be a school record for a long time,” Dawkins said. “Not unless we don’t have more than one pitcher again.”
This season Riendeau is 6-2 with a 3.68 earned run average (ERA), while Durbin is 1-2 with a 3.72 ERA.
Sunlake has no seniors on the softball team because it has only been in existence for three years, but some players are already getting scholarship offers from colleges. Rogers and outfielder Chloe Fletcher have given verbal commitments to play at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the College of Charleston respectively.
“The juniors are like our seniors and they’ve taken on different leadership roles,” Dawkins said. “They’re helping the younger players and that will make Sunlake a place known for softball.”
Building the school’s reputation is a long-term goal, but this season is currently on the minds of all the players.
“We just have to realize that each game is new,” Durbin said. “We can’t dwell on what we did wrong in the past. We have to learn from our mistakes and get better, while not worrying about what has already happened.”
Sunlake softball roster
Player Position Year
Jenna Figueredo 2B Jr.
Meghan Durbin P/2B So.
Sarah Jones OF/C Jr.
Brandi Travis OF Fr.
Courtney Durbin OF So.
Amanda Solar C/1B Jr.
Keegan Murray 2B Fr.
Christine Rodhouse C/1B Fr.
Stephanie Frances 3B/1B Fr.
Chloe Fletcher OF Jr.
Shelley Stohler C/3B Jr.
Tyler Riendeau P/1B Jr.
Alex Rogers SS Jr.
Jayde Slimak 3B Jr.
Ashley Orta 1B/3B Jr.
