070722_SWB DIGITAL EDITION

www.SouthwestOrlandoBulletin.com x July 7 — 20, 2022 x 5
SPORTS SPOTLIGHT
Making History
TFA’s Ladies Softball Team Wins First State Championship
31
The Lady
Royals varsity
softball team
wins the state
championship.
The First Academy 2021-
22 Royals varsity softball team
capped off a 23-6 season by
winning the Florida High School
Athletic Association (FHSAA) Class
2A State Championship, defeating
Jacksonville’s University Christian 8-2
at Legends Way Softball Complex in
Clermont.
In her sixth season as Royals head
coach, Kaley Gangelhoff led the
team to the title game, defeating
Evangelical Christian 3-0. Hannah
Harper, a Class of 2022 left-handed
pitcher, played all seven innings
in the championship series game and
finished the championship with a line
of 7IP, 5K’s 3BB and 8H. She subsequently
was named the 2022 FACA
2A District 11 Player of the Year.
Camille Mackedon, also part of
the Class of 2022, and rising junior
Alexis Zerquera led the Royals
from the plate as each player went
2-for-4 with 3 RBI’s, including a threerun
home run from Zerquera in the
bottom of the fifth inning, the first in
her varsity career.
The championship win was the
team’s first state title in school history.
Along the path to its 23-6 season,
TFA defeated Orlando Christian
Preparatory School 4-0 for the Class
2A District 7 Championship and
Mount Dora Christian Academy
4-0 for the Class 2A Region 2
Championship.
The Royals graduated two seniors
this season, including Harper, who
will go on to pitch at the University
of West Florida, and shortstop
Mackedon, who had the game-winning
catch in the title game. Both girls
made the FACA all-state team along
with 2021-22 junior second baseman
Mollie Duling, 2021-22 sophomore
catcher Molly Sheridan,
and first baseman Zerquera. Harper,
Mackedon, Duling, Sheridan and
2021-22 sophomore flex player
Grace Grant were also named to
the FACA all-academic team.
The Softball State Championship is
not the only gold the Royals earned
this year. Earlier this spring, Class of
2022 senior Will Richards took
home the FHSAA state title in track
and field for the boys long jump
with a jump of 6.92 meters (22 feet,
8.5 inches). The softball title win
also comes exactly one year after
the Royals baseball team captured
the Class 3A state championship in
2021.
The entire TFA family extends its
congratulations to the Lady Royals
for its hard work both on and off the
field! ª
Thank You
to
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