By Kyle Coppola
Leesburg High School Softball Team Off To A Historic Start
The Leesburg Lady Yellow Jackets softball team is setting a blazing trail with an impressive 4-0 start, showcasing a total team effort that has led to a historic 70 runs scored in just four games. This marks the highest run tally in the first four games in the program’s history, signaling a remarkable turnaround for a team that has faced challenges in previous years.
Photo Credit – shotbytj_
After a challenging 3-16 season last year, the Lady Yellow Jackets have already surpassed their combined win total from the previous season. Last year Leesburg faced opponents like Eustis, The Villages, Citrus, and Umatilla. None of those teams are on the schedule this year. The Yellow Jackets have strategically refined their schedule, setting a positive tone for the season ahead. The program has averaged four wins per season since 2007, making this early success a promising sign.
Junior Haley Larsen has played a pivotal role, contributing an impressive 11 RBIs in the first four games. Freshman Addison Hunter and Junior Kennadi Williams have also made significant contributions, collectively scoring 21 runs, further fueling the team’s offense.
Photo Credit – shotbytj_
On the pitching front, Courtney Gravelle has anchored the team, logging 12 innings with 7 strikeouts. Despite an average ERA of around 7 runs per game, the Yellow Jackets’ robust offense has complemented Gravelle’s efforts on the mound. Head Coach Amber Prescott, who took over from Kelsi Croft this season, has steered the team in the right direction. With the thrill of victory setting in, the Lady Jackets are focusing on refining their skills as the season progresses.
Photo Credit – shotbytj_
Competing in the challenging Class 5A District 5, the Lady Jackets are aware of the tough competition awaiting them in the district tournament later this spring. Teams like Belleview, Springstead, Lecanto, and Pasco will lie ahead. While district games are not part of the regular season schedule, the team is determined win softball games and potentially have the best season in Leesburg High Softball modern (online statistics after 2007) history. Most pre-modern online teams statistics are available in a library. If there was a pre-modern LHS Softball team that scored more runs, let us know in the comments.
As the spring season unfolds, we are excited to see what this team is capable of. Leesburg has been doing a great job with their athletic programs as of late. The Football team had its best season since the early 1990s, the girls and basketball programs found success, the bowling team won a state championship, as did the girls weightlifting team. It is a very exciting time for Leesburg Athletics. Go Jackets!
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.
