April 29, 2025
South Lake and Lake Minneola Set for Softball District Championship Showdown
By Kyle Coppola
South Lake and Lake Minneola Set for Softball District Championship Showdown
It all comes down to this! The South Lake High Eagles and Lake Minneola High Hawks are set to battle for the District Softball Championship in a highly anticipated crosstown rivalry matchup on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at South Lake High School.
South Lake enters the title game as the No. 2 seed after an impressive 11-1 victory over Forest. Meanwhile, Lake Minneola, the No. 4 seed, pulled off a convincing 6-0 upset against Horizon High School, playing some of their best softball of the season at just the right time.
(Freshman pitcher Zoie Rogers has had a solid year for South Lake High School. Photo Credit – Sbjr.photography.)
South Lake sits at 13-12 on the year, while Lake Minneola comes in at 12-13, with both teams having split the season series. The Hawks won the first meeting 7-5 on March 18th, and the Eagles responded with a dominant 7-1 win on April 3rd.
For South Lake, sophomore standout Chloe Stone is on fire, leading the team with a .405 batting average. Stone has racked up 34 hits, driven in 25 RBIs, and scored 22 runs. Junior Makiah Palacio has also been a force at the plate, hitting .395 with 30 hits, 21 runs, eight doubles, and three home runs. Zoe Sheffield and Leah Fullerton have provided additional offensive support throughout the season.
(Makiah Palacio has 30 hits, 21 runs, eight doubles this season. Photo Credit – Sbjr.photography.)
On the mound, freshman Zoie Rogers has embraced the pressure of being the team’s go-to pitcher. She’s logged a whopping 138 innings with 107 strikeouts and holds a solid 3.14 ERA. Her ability to command the game will be crucial against a red-hot Lake Minneola offense.
Speaking of the Hawks, they are led offensively by Amaliz Martinez, who is hitting a scorching .450 with 36 hits, 20 RBIs, and 27 runs scored. Nevaeha Parra and Emma Quevedo have also made key contributions at the plate.
(The Lake Minneola High softball team came into the district tournament ranked as the #4 seed but they didn’t let that bother them. They are playing their best softball of the year currently. Photo Credit – baileyslense.)
On the mound, Kaydence Schutte and Kenzie Merkey have found their rhythm late in the season. Schutte leads the team with 51 strikeouts, while Merkey has added 28. Their ERAs are closely matched, with Schutte at 4.37 and Merkey at 4.85, and both will need to bring their best stuff to keep South Lake’s bats in check.
With each team claiming a win in the regular season, the championship game is truly a toss-up. Both squads are peaking at the right time, and we expect a hard fought emotional contest when these rivals meet one more time under the lights.
(Photo Credit – baileyslense.)
Come out and support local softball at its best. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday at South Lake High School.
Good luck to both teams!
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.
