Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic Softball Tournament

BSN PREP SOFTBALL: 19-0 MELBOURNE BULLDOGS TAKE DOWN NO.2 TEAM IN COUNTRY, REGION RIVALS, BARTOW TO WIN 2024 ROGER JONES KISSIMMEE SOFTBALL CLASSIC:

The Melbourne Bulldogs softball team have accomplished many things over the past several seasons. This senior class entered this past weekend with a four-year record of 87-10-1. They’ve won a state championship and have captured district and regional titles.

The one victory that has eluded them was a championship in the prestigious softball tournament called, The Roger Jones Kissimmee Classic.

“The Lady Bulldogs have been trying to win this tournament for a decade”, said manager Dan Edel.

“Last year, we made it to the championship game after an exhausting 14 inning game against Doral. We only had 15 minutes to get ready to start the championship game. So while everyone else played three games to get to the championship, we played four and then had to play a fifth to win it all.”

“Unfortunately, we came up short, Runner up. This year our goal was to come out on top,” said Edel.

Held every year for the past 32 years , the Kissimmee Classic has 32 of the best high school softball teams from across the state of Florida playing in two brackets.

This year alone, the brackets included five teams ranked in the top 12 in the state. Melbourne entered the tournament 15-0 and ranked No.9 in the state by the FHSAA and No.9 in the country by MaxPreps.

The Bulldogs play in the FHSAA’s 6A classification and to say it is the best of all the classifications wouldn’t be doing it justice. The top four teams in the state play in 6A, six occupy the top 10 and four of them are ranked inside MaxPreps national Top 22.

Melbourne is ranked as the sixth best team in 6A by the FHSAA and two of the teams ranked ahead of them in 6A, No.1 Bartow and No. 4 Doral Academy and two team just behind the Lady Bulldogs, No.6 Hagerty and No.10 Oakleaf were also in the tournament and by the time the tournament ended, Melbourne faced and defeated two of them.

So aside from winning a prestigious in state regular season tournament like the Classic, what this tournament also represented for the Bulldogs was an opportunity to pick up a few huge statement wins and if they could win it all they could very well put themselves not only in the top five in the country but they could put themselves in a position to host every playoff game at home until it was time to go to Cleremont to play in the final four.

The Bulldogs started the tournament with a 3-0 win over Coral Reef. Melbourne scored all three runs in the third inning and scattered six hits in the win with Alisha Thompson collecting two of them. Senior pitcher Jazzy Francik was phenomenal in the circle as she tossed the sixth perfect game and 16th no hitter of her storied high school career.

The future Seminole struck out 19 of the 21 batters she faced in the win.

In game two of the tournament, the Bulldogs bats came to life as Melbourne defeated No.10 in 6A, Oakleaf, 9-3. The Bulldogs scored seven times in the first three innings with five of those runs coming in the top half of the second inning. Maddie Prayto, Rylie Mecchella, Alisha Thompson and Layna Ayala all had two hits each in the win. Mecchella had three RBI’s and Prayto had five total bases and an RBI as she hit a triple.

In the semifinals the Bulldogs faced the No.12 ranked team in the state in Monteverde Academy. The Eagles featured pitcher Nevaeh Williams who was voted by the public on SB Live as America's best freshman high school softball player in 2023.

Francik and Williams were as advertised in the circle as Melbourne and Monteverde were held scoreless for the first six innings. However, as the Bulldogs have done so many times in big games before under manager Dan Edel, they would find a way to push home the eventual winning run, this time in the top of the seventh.

Allyssa Arnold led off the inning with a big hit and Layna Ayala followed with another sending Arnold to third while Ayala took second on the throw to try to get Arnold. Edel then began to utilize a deep and experienced team as he called upon senior Camden Hurd to come into run for Arnold as Hailey ‘Clutch’ Turner stepped up.

If you know about Haley’s career, then you know she’s gotten some of the biggest hits in the programs history and she didn’t disappoint when Edel delivered the bunt sign to the Florida Southwestern commit.

Turner’s bunt was executed nicely and fielded well as Hurd took off for home, while the throw beat Camden, her speed and slide caused the catcher to juggle the ball as she ended up sitting on her chest with a safe call to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. It’s all Francik needed as Jazzy closed out the Eagles in the bottom half of the seventh to advance to the championship game.

Francik ended the game with 16 strikeouts, one walk and just two hits allowed.

The win over Monteverde set up a rematch of the 2022 regional championship between Bartow and Melbourne and that meant that the fans at The Fortune Road Softball complex were treated to a rematch of Jazzy Francik and Katelyn Oxley in the circle.

If the 2022 game was any indication as to what the fans could expect, than they were in for a real treat.

Francik and Red, as Oxley is nicknamed, have developed a deep rivalry in the circle that started in their sophomore seasons when Francik and her Bulldogs beat Oxley and her Yellow Jackets.

Despite having to come back and play on Saturday morning after a Friday night weather delay, Melbourne won 2-0 in nine innings and it catapulted them to a state championship.

It also catapulted Francik into national recognition as she captured every major local and national award a high school softball player could win. The same happened for Oxley last season after they defeated Viera in the regional championship catapulting the Yellow Jackets to a state championship and Oxley to the top of the national awards lists.

The beauty of this rivalry is that even though both are seniors, the rivalry will surely continue as to which one is the best pitcher in the state. Each will attend college in the Sunshine State as Francik is commited and signed to play at Florida State and Oxley is signed and committed to play for the Gators at the University of Florida.

Just like the game in 2022 the two best pitchers in the state held their respective opponents scoreless through the first six and half innings.

Where this game would be different is the Bulldogs would win this one in seven innings as opposed to needing extra innings in 2022.

How this game ended, wouldn’t exactly be all that different than in 2022 either. Manager Dan Edel seems to know what buttons to push and when and trusting his team as he does, he doesn’t mind taking a gamble when the opportunity presents itself

That reputation started in that 2022 game when in the top of the ninth with the bases loaded and with one out, Edel signaled for his No.4 hitter, Alisha Thompson to bunt which she did scoring the eventual game winning run in then sophomore, Haley Turner

In this matchup in Kissimmee, senior Rylie Mecchella continued her great year at the plate as she led off the bottom of the seventh with a huge blast off Oxley that bounced off the right field fence. On her away around first Rylie collided with the first baseman causing her to stumble.

She would recover to reach third base but Edel asked for interference which would have given Mecchella a home run and Melbourne the win, but the umpires denied the request and the game went on. Oxley got her counterpart in Francik to pop out and Alisha Thompson followed with a walk putting runners at the corner with one out. The hope for Bartow was to obviously get a ground ball double play as Allyssa Arnold came to bat.

With Arnold up, Edel put his chips in the middle of the table and signaled for her to bunt. Not only did Arnold deliver a perfectly placed ball, but the bunt would also score Mecchella to give Melbourne the 2024 Kissimmee Classic Blue Bracket title.

Another classic Melbourne-Bartow battle ended with another Bulldogs win. Francik and Oxley combined for 28 strikeouts, with just one walk, and five total hits. Francik was named the Blue Bracket MVP. In 26 innings pitched, Jazzy allowed NO runs and just four hits. She struck out 59 batters and walked just two which is an insane strikeout to walk ratio of 29:1.

Melbourne played Melbourne softball in this tournament. Meaning, the Bulldogs played the type of softball that earned them the programs first fast pitch state championship two years ago. They got great pitching, played great defense, ran the bases well and they got the big timely hits when it matters most. And yes, they took a few gambles that you must take to win big games in softball, the type of gambles not all softball and baseball coaches are willing to take.

“We have emphasized taking it one game at a time as if it’s your last and leaving it all on the field, playing unselfishly,” Edel told BSN.

“This team is really “buying in” to the coaches’ game plans and philosophies. Not a single player puts themselves before the team and they truly have each other’s back. Tournament Champions! We trained hard in the fall and were on a mission once January got here,” Edel concluded.

When asked what this might mean for his team over the next six weeks, Edel said,” This year, our goal has been the game in front of us is all that matters 0-0, let’s be 1-0 after tonight. This has been one of the most special bunch of young ladies and talented players I have ever coached. ONE TEAM, ONE GOAL…DAWGS ALL IN….

Melbourne and Francik are now 2-0 vs. Oxley and Bartow and while Viera, who captured the Gold division championship at the Kissimmee Classic could have something to say about how the regional championship ends up this year, many believe we will see the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets one more time in 2024.

And if the FHSAA playoff rankings computer is truly accurate and it does its job, then that potential matchup should now take place at Dawson Field on the campus of Melbourne High School.

This post is sponsored by Strike Zone Fishing Melbourne FL

BSN PREP SOFTBALL: VIERA HAWKS CAPTURE GOLD BRACKET CHAMPIONSHIP AT 32nd ROGER JONES KISSIMMEE SOFTBALL CLASSIC: HAWKS HAVE NOW WON 10 STRAIGHT GAMES:

As the high school softball season heads into the stretch drive, the Viera Hawks softball team may need some butter tossed their way as head coach Mike Worden and his squad are on quite a ‘roll’.

The Hawks entered the 32nd Roger Jones Kissimmee Softball Classic this past weekend with a six game winning streak and by the time Viera departed The Fortune Road Softball complex on Saturday evening that streak would reach 10 games and they would also come back to Brevard County as champions in the Gold Bracket.

The Kissimmee Classic is one of the premier in season tournaments in the state of Florida and it really gives teams a chance to see where they are heading into the seasons final weeks against some of the top competition.

The tournament consists of 32 of the best high school softball teams from across the state of Florida play in two brackets over several days.

had several teams play in the tournament. The Hawks district rivals, Melbourne captured the Blue Bracket championship and Viera was equally impressive in capturing their title.

The Hawks used a stellar combination of power, as five different players belted out six home runs over four games. Viera also used timely hitting, good consistent pitching and outstanding base running to finish 4-0 and outscore their opponents 24-12.

Viera began the tournament with a 7-2 win over Lake Wales and as they did at one point in every game over the three days of the tournament, the Hawks came from behind to do so.

The Hawks trailed 2-1 at the end of four innings in the opener before scoring six times in the final three innings to win. Addy Berry pitched seven strong innings allowing just one earned run and striking out seven while scattering six hits.

At the plate Kami Potts was 2-3 as she had a home run, double and one RBI. Amaya Pitt and Tori Berry each collected two hits and two RBI’s each. One of Berry’s hits was her fourth career home run and first this season.

The Hawks continued their winning ways in game two of the Classic defeating Deltona,4-2.

This time Viera trailed 2-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth before the Hawks unleashed the long ball, as Amaya Pitt, Haley Rider and Elaina Snyder all left the yard. Addy Berry was 2-2 at the plate and scored a run.

Madison Rider handled the majority of the work in the circle pitching six innings, allowing two runs (0 earned) while striking out five and walking one. Addy Berry came in and needed just eight pitches to retire three straight Deltona hitters in the seventh to send Viera to the gold bracket semifinals.

In the semifinals, Viera took an early 1-0 lead into the top of the first but trailed 4-1 after three innings before tying the contest with one swing of the bat in the fourth. The Hawks broke the tie two innings later and went onto defeat West Nasseau, 5-4.

Viera batters collected 11 hits in the contest as Haley Rider had one of those hits but is was a big one as the Florida Tech commit connected on her second home run in as many days. This home run produced three runs to cut the Warriors lead to 4-3.

Haley now leads the team with five home runs this season and 21 runs batted in.

Addy Berry continued her stellar play in the tournament collecting two more hits and an RBI as she slugged a double. Tori Berry also drove in a run.

Madison Rider came into the tournament batting well over .500 this season and she continued her onslaught of collecting hits (31) as the freshman had three more and scored two of the five runs in the win.

Addy Berry pitched seven innings allowing four runs but just one of them were earned as Viera committed an uncharacteristic four errors in the game. The North Florida commit allowed just six hits while striking out four and walking only one in earning the complete game win.

The come from behind win sent Viera to the championship game where they faced a very good East Ridge team.

The Knights scored in the top of the first but Viera answered with eight runs over the next four innings to take the 8-4 lead which held up to become the final.

In the game, the Hawks collected nine more hits as a team. Madison Rider and Addy Berry again led the way for Viera at both the plate and in the circle.

Rider again smacked three more hits and scored two more runs and she drove in two runs as well. Berry was one of three Hawks with two hits apiece in the championship.

Tori Berry went 2-3 and drove in three runs while Elaina Snyder and Addy each had RBI’s. Kaitlyn Farinhas also had an RBI.

Madison Rider started the championship game and went 5.2 innings allowing six hits and four runs and striking out six. Addy pitched the final inning and two thirds as she didn’t allow a base runner. She allowed no hits and struck out three of the six batters she faced in throwing just 17 pitches.

Madison was named the Gold brackets defensive MVP. In all, she collected seven hits, had two RBI’s and scored five runs in the tournament.

Addy Berry also had a great tournament as she finished with seven hits, two RBI’s and two runs scored

As for Berry and Rider in the circle, Addy was 2-0 as she pitched 16.2 innings allowing just 12 hits while striking out 14. She allowed just two earned runs and even more impressive was Berry walked just four of the 74 batters she faced in the four games.

Madison pitched 11.1 innings and allowed nine hits while striking out 11 and walking six.

Other notable standouts include Tori Berry, five hits and six RBI’s, Haley Rider four hits, two home runs and four RBI’s and Amaya Pitt, four hits, four RBI’s and three runs scored.

“The team played great all weekend. Our pitching was good, our defense was solid and man were our bats on fire,” said Viera manager Mike Worden to BSN.

“We were down in each game but the team wasn’t phased. They stuck to our plan and executed. Timely hits and good base running. We also had six home runs by five different players.”

The tournament win and now 10 wins in a row have the Hawks thinking about doing big things this season.

It won’t be easy as Viera plays in the FHSAA’s 6A which is undoubtedly one of the toughest classifications in the state, if not the entire country.

Currently, the top four teams in the state play in 6A, and six of them are ranked in the overall top 10.

Four of those teams are also ranked inside MaxPreps national Top 22, including district and Brevard foe Melbourne, who is ranked No.9 in the country and No.6 in 6A.

The Bulldogs defeated the No.1 team in the state and No.2 team in the country in Bartow to win the Blue bracket championship at the same tournament this past weekend but if Viera proved one thing last season it’s that they are more than capable of defeating the Bulldogs when it matters most in April and May.

To do so they will need to continue to swing big bats and play good all around softball but with the array of talent Viera possesses under Mike Worden, there is no doubt they must be considered strong final four contenders.

“Overall, very proud of this team and how they’re playing. Hope to continue playing strong softball to finish the regular season and prepare ourselves for a deep playoff run.”

This post is sponsored by Ashley Westbrook REMAX Solutions

The 32nd annual Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic has come to an end. We would like to thank all of our teams, fans, sponsors, facility crew, grounds crew, staff, and our many volunteers for making it another successful tournament. We appreciate you all and we wish all of our teams the best of luck as we finish out the 2024 season. Until next year.

Congratulations to the Gold Bracket Outstanding Offensive Player Veronica Peterson.

Congratulations to Viera’s Madison Rider on receiving the Outstanding defense award.

Congratulations to our Gold Bracket Champions, Viera High School.

Congratulations to MaKenna DeMartino of East Ridge for receiving the Gold Bracket George Coffey MVP.

Congratulations to East Ridge High School our Gold Bracket Runner up.

Congratulations to our Gold Bracket 3rd place finishers, Sumner High School.

Congratulations to our Blue Bracket George Coffey MVP, Jasmine Francik.

Congratulations to our Blue Bracket Champions, Melbourne High School.

Congratulations to Katelynn Oxley, our Blue Bracket Defensive player of the tournament.

Congratulations to our Blue Bracket Runner up, the Yellow Jackets of Bartow.

Congratulations to Monteverde on their blue bracket 3rd place finish.

Championship games are set…

Blue bracket final match up will be Bartow and Melbourne.

Gold Bracket final match up will be East Ridge and Viera.

Come check out Meydey Media’s action shots from the 2024 Kissimmee Klassic here.

https://meydeymedia.pixieset.com/guestlogin/kissimmeeklassic2024/?return=%2Fkissimmeeklassic2024%2F&fbclid=PAAaZHXLEvAIzyA8SEDWO32PUf13Ulm55Umpix0oNX0P5_YXm4yfP1S9Y8-PI_aem_AUyOKbOCrhZhoRpgu6Ivd6PxtP5u7w9c69-4FCfvz-eI7dEYokIbS9UaHkHYNC9zytU

Kissimmee Klassic 2024 Photo collection by MeyDey Media

Blue Bracket Friday

Gold bracket Friday

Check out the action photos from the tournament here…

https://meydeymedia.pixieset.com/kissimmeeklassic2024/

Thanks at Meyday Media

Kissimmee Klassic 2024 Photo collection by MeyDey Media

Day two is underway

Blue bracket 6pm and 8pm

Gold bracket 6pm and 8pm games

4pm Blue Bracket
Oakleaf 3, Jensen Beach 0
Doral 7, Hagerty 2

4pm Gold Bracket
Cooper City 5, Osceola 4
East Ridge 14, Merritt Island 0

2pm blue bracket
Bartow 3, Univeristy 1
Melbourne3, Coral Reef 0

2pm Gold
West Nassau 9, Mountian Brook 5
West Broward 4, Keystone 0

It’s a perfect day for softball…

We kick off at 2pm tomorrow afternoon…

Two days away from the Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic. Games kick off Thursday at 2pm at Fortune Road. Hope to see you all there as we watch some of the best Florida High School Softball teams take to the field.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://kissimmeeklassic.hometownticketing.com/embed/all

Thank you to our Kissimmee Klassic sponsor Tri-City electrical of Altamonte. We appreciate your support of the Kissimmee Klassic and high school softball. Thank you!

One week away…

32nd Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic Begins Thursday at Fortune Road Softball Complex Five of the 12 top-ranked high school softball teams in Florida, including overall number one ranked Bartow, will invade Kissimmee beginning Thursday (Apr. 4) for the 32nd edition of the Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic.

Can’t wait to see all the teams in the annual Roger Jones Kissimmee Klassic. Come see some of the best high school softball action.