Today's region softball finals

By TERRY JONES
Published May 13, 2005

CLASS A

WHO: Cambridge (23-6) at Winter Haven All Saints' (19-4), 4 p.m.

DIRECTIONS: Take Interstate 4 east to the Polk Parkway. Take the US-98 exit (Exit 10) toward Lakeland/Bartow. Turn right onto US-98. Turn left onto FL-540/Winter Lake Road. End at 5001 State Road. 540 West.

SKINNY: In the state rankings, Cambridge and All Saints' are 1-2, with the Lancers winning an earlier meeting. All Saints' has strong pitching with Lindsey McClellan, who can carry the team even when her offense isn't producing. The Lancers have 8-0 Samantha Becker, who has an ERA of 0.49 and a batting average over .500. Brittany Williams and Valerie Kessell also hit over .500, and Jessica Kessell is over .400. The team makes contact with the ball more than 90 percent of the time.

WHO: Chamberlain (26-3) at Lakeland George Jenkins (24-4), 7:30 p.m.

DIRECTIONS: Take I-4 east to the Polk Parkway. Merge onto Lakeland Highlands Road. Three miles to the school.

SKINNY: The Eagles battled Plant for 13 innings Tuesday before pulling out a 4-3 win. This should be a classic battle, with Jenkins' tough pitchers Kayleigh Ringer and Ashley Alderman sporting 12-2 records and less than 1.00 ERAs. Chamberlain counters with Heather Vanlandingham and Kelly Confer, who have almost equal stats. The Chiefs have JoJo Medina hitting over .500, and Amanda Patrick and Ashley Acuri hitting over .400. They also boast one of the best defenses in the state. For Jenkins, Brooke Johnson and Kaley Siemen each hit over .500, and the Eagles have a tight defense.

[Last modified May 13, 2005, 00:57:16]