By Kyle Coppola
Lake Minneola Baseball Dominates East Ridge High 12-2 FINAL
Lake Minneola Baseball got a big win against East Ridge High School on Thursday evening. Lake Minneola now moves to 17-5 on the season. The Hawks have won 6 games in a row and have won 10 out of their last 11 games total.
(Fabian Antonsanti would lead the Hawks with 3 hits, 2 RBIs and a run scored. JOE OTT PHOTOGRAPY)
The Hawks were led by Fabian Antonsanti who wound up with 3 hits last night. The action started in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Lake Minneola would score 3 runs. The score was still 3-0 in the bottom of the 3rd when Lake Minneola would pile on 9 runs in the inning to make it 12-0. East Ridge would score 2 runs in the 5th, but at that point, it was too late, and the Mercy rule took effect, ending the game after the 5th inning.
(Malachi Meyers steps into the batters box. Malachi has a .333 average along with 9 runs scored, 12 hits and 7 RBIs. JOE OTT PHOTOGRAPY)
Fabian Antonsanti not only had 3 hits, he had 2 RBIs and a triple. He would also score a run. It was also a stellar night for Tyler Pierre, Colson May, Josh Schaller, and Bryan Castellanos, who all contributed. Castellanos, May, and Pierre all scored 2 runs on the evening. Sophomore Jose Tavares had a double that also drove in a run.
(Jacob Cali on the mound. He pitched 4 scoreless innings during the 12-2 Lake Minneola win. JOE OTT PHOTOGRAPY)
On the mound last evening was Junior Jacob Cali. Cali put in some good work on the mound. He would strike out 2 batters while giving up only 1 walk and 3 hits. East Ridge had no answers for Cali last evening. The junior was absolutely on point last evening. He would give up no earned runs while being relieved by Brady Montrowl in the 5th inning. While Montrowl would give up 2 runs, he would strike out 3 batters, ultimately ending the game in the top of the 5th inning.
(Jacob Cali takes a swing. He was money on the mound. Cali also gets things done in the batters box. He is averaging .373 with 22 hits and 16 RBIs. JOE OTT PHOTOGRAPHY)
It was a terrific performance from Lake Minneola. The Hawks are coming down the home stretch of the 2024 regular season and look as good as they have all year long. The Hawks get a nice four-day rest period before facing Dr. Phillips on Tuesday and then wrap the regular season up with Osceola next Thursday.
As for East Ridge High, the season has had its ups and downs. The Knights sit at 7-14 on the year. Lake Minneola is looking primed for a district tournament run. Right now, Forest and Lake Minneola are the top teams in the district, with South Lake, East River, and Wekiva all right there. It should be a very interesting district tournament this season in Class 6A district 7.
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
