McLaughlin leads Raiders to softball regional semifinals

ROCKLEDGE – Rockledge High's softball team defeated a strong Tavares squad, 4-0, on Thursday to advance to the regional semifinal round at Eustis.

"Maybe we're too young to be intimidated, which is a good thing for us," Rockledge head coach Mike Inman said. "We've gone into every game saying that we were not going to bow down."

Sophomore pitcher Molly McLaughlin threw a complete-game shutout. She was backed up with solid defense by her older sister, Phoebe, at first base and sophomore catcher Jackie Mijuskovic.

"We've all worked really hard," Mijuskovic said. "We've gone through pickoffs. Molly's pitching has been unbelievable. We've hit endless ground balls to our infield. It's just a lot of routine stuff that we've been working really hard on, and I'm really proud of us. We've come a long way, a super long way."

Mijuskovic connected with Phoebe McLaughlin on two pickoffs to give the Lady Raiders momentum at different points of the game.

"I don't think that anybody wants it more than we do," Mijuskovic said.

Satellite lost at Eustis in another quarterfinal, 5-4. The Scorpions' season ended at 16-11.

Also in 5A, Pompano Beach scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning to overcome a 3-0 deficit en route to a 4-3 win at Bayside.

"Like I told the girls, that was three (close) games in a row. We pulled two out and got bit by one," said Bayside head coach Steve Colantino. "The seniors played well. The seniors made us proud."

Bayside concluded the year at 14-12, while Pompano Beach improved to 17-6.