By Kyle Coppola
Real Life Christian Academy Softball Team Making History
CLERMONT, Fla. — The Real Life Christian Academy varsity softball team is in the midst of a historic season, riding a six-game winning streak and boasting an 8-2 record (10-2 including preseason). Head coach Jeff Carney credits the team’s dominant performance to a combination of stellar pitching and an explosive offense.
(RLCA Is off to one of the best starts in program history. Photo Credit – Kristen Anderson.)
Leading the charge is the Lions’ new ace pitcher Daniella Delgadillo, who has been rewriting the school record books with her dominant presence on the mound. Through 141 batters faced, she has struck out 67, allowed only 24 hits, and issued just 18 walks, contributing to an impressive 3.65 ERA.
“She has been a game-changer for us,” Carney said. “Her ability to control the game from the circle has given us a huge advantage.”
(RLCA Softball is having one of it’s best seasons in school history. Photo Credit – Kristen Anderson.)
Beyond the mound, Real Life Christian’s offense has been nearly unstoppable. The team has outscored opponents 173-64, with eight batters hitting .500 or better. As a unit, the Lions are swinging at an astonishing .549 team batting average, an offensive output that has overwhelmed their competition.
Emma Lowe leads the team with 25 hits, 21 RBIs and 20 runs scored through just ten games. Lowe is averaging .625 at the plate. Meanwhile Delgadillo has scored a team high 24 runs with 20 hits. Freshman Rylee Lyon has been impressive as well with a .762 batting average in just seven games played. She has 18 RBI’s and 19 runs scored. She is certainly one to keep your eye one.
(Photo Credit – Kristen Anderson.)
“Our lineup is relentless,” Carney said. “One through nine, we have players who can hit for power and average. It’s been incredible to watch.”
Real Life Christian Academy will be playing for a championship in just a few weeks time as they play in the Sunshine State Athletic Association Tournament which takes place April 11th and April 12th.
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.
