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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week (Mar. 18, 2019)

Avery Goelz helped lead Lakewood Ranch to wins last week against a pair of Top 10 teams in Florida’s Class 8A. Photos of Avery by Susan Misiura.

We announce this week’s Extra Inning Softball National High School Player of the Week awards by looking closer at the #2 team in the nation, a squad from Florida that has a future Florida Gator who batted .714 last week…

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Extra Inning Softball’s National High School Player of the Week

Sometimes, it’s not how big your numbers are, it’s when you get them and against who that counts.

Last week, two-time Florida State Offensive Player of the Year Avery Goelz came up big for Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Florida) High as she led the Mustangs to two impressive wins over fellow Class 8A Top 10 state-ranked teams.

In the first game against #8 ranked George Jenkins (Lakeland, Florida) High, Goelz—who is a Florida Gator commit and the daughter of co-head coaches T.J. and Liz Goelz and sister of Mississippi State freshman Kinsey—went 2-for-4 with a double and single and two key two-out RBIs in a 6-2 victory.

Avery leads off third base. More than half of her hits this year have been doubles or home runs.

Avery explained her approach at the plate when there were down in the inning: “When I’m up to bat with two outs I just think about hitting the ball hard to a gap or up the middle,” she said.

“I try not to focus on how many outs there are because it just adds unnecessary nerves. When there are runners on base, I visualize me getting a hit that scores the runners or puts them in scoring position.”

Against Wellington High, ranked #6 in 8A, Avery went 3-for-3 with three RBIs and a two-run home run in a 9-1 victory.

She admits playing against competitive teams helps elevate her game to another level.

“Big games are my absolute favorite,” Avery starts. “I love being in tight situations where every pitch matters and the game is on the line. There’s a tension in the air because you know the other team is fighting just as hard as we are to try and win, so we have to make sure we are louder, more prepared, and more focused then them.”

In two games, the coaches’ daughter went 5-for-7 (.714) with five RBIs; a small sample of how she can take over a game or two with her prolific bat.

Her stats for the first eight games are also impressive: a .517 batting average, 15 hits including three home runs and five doubles, 11 runs scored, three steals and a 1.562 OPS.

One who had a great front row seat to Avery’s clutch play was her father and coach, T.J. Goelz.

Coach T.J. Goelz says the target on the team’s back is getting larger, but Avery is still played loose and having fun.

“Avery had a great week at the plate and on the field,” Coach Goelz said. “She came through hitting at some key times and provided some solid leadership. Avery’s a big-time player and big-time players do big things in big situations. I am very pleased with how our team is playing and we seem to be improving every time we step on the field which is the main goal.”

“The target on our back is growing and we take that as an honor and a compliment. We will get teams’ best efforts and best focus which will get us ready for the postseason. We can still improve quite a bit which is exciting and a little scary too… it should be fun!”

Lakewood Ranch is now 8-0 and jumped nine sports in the latest Extra Elite 80 High School Rankings thanks to not just a potent Mustangs’ offense but also a pitching staff that has allowed only three runs all season.

Photos of Avery by Susan Misiura

Runner-Up Players of the Week
Madeline Leung

* Madeline Leung, a freshman at Encinal (Alameda, California) High, went 9-for-11 for an .818 average and 12 RBI. The infielder also scored six runs as she hit a home run, double and triple. For the season she is batting .526 with a slugging percentage of 1.263 as she has hit three homers, a pair of triples and has knocked in 18 runs. Equally impressive, she hasn’t struck out once

Avery Croxall

* Avery Croxall, a junior pitcher for East Nicolaus (Trowbridge, California) High, had a dominating week in the circle as she won five games and saved another as she threw 21 1/3rd innings and had 41 strikeouts while compiling a 0.00 ERA. Avery, who is a commit to the University of Pacific, was the Cubs Classic Large School tournament MVP even though run-rule wins limited her innings in four of her five wins. Her school is a public school of 300 students and she plays on the same team with two cousins who will also play at the next level: Preslie Hewitt (2019 grad, University of Nevada) and Remmington Hewitt (2022, an Arizona State commit).

Kenzi Lyall

* Kenzi Lyall, a sophomore at Alleghany (Sparta, North Carolina) High, played in two conference games this week and pitched a perfect game and a one-hit shutout. She helped her cause offensively as well as she batted .875 and had three steals. The North Carolina 1A State Pitcher of the Year as a freshman last season after leading Alleghany to the 1A state championship, Kenzi had 10 strikeouts in a game last Tuesday and followed up with a 16 K’s the next day. Her 278 K’s for the 2018 season led the state.

* Kadyn Smith, a sophomore at Bakersfield Christian (Bakersfield, California) High, compiled four wins and only gave up two earned runs and six hits as she threw 24 innings while hitting two runs. For the season she has 70 K’s in 52 1/3rd innings and has limited opponents to just a .118 batting average. Kadyn’s freshman year she was named CalHi Sports 2nd Team All-State as she led her team to the 2018 CIF Central Section Div. VI Championship.

Neely Peterson

* Neely Peters, a senior catcher for Cypress Creek Middle (Wesley Chapel, Florida) High, batted .667 with a 2.250 slugging percentage as she went 4-for-6 with eight RBI including a two-run home run and a grand slam in one game. The Colorado State signee also threw out two runners. Interestingly, she hadn’t played in a game since PGF Nationals last summer due to a fall volleyball injury before being cleared to play just the day before the first game of the season. In seven games this year, Neely is batting .545 with a 1.181 slugging percentage, a .593 on-base percentage and a 1.775 OPS. She has 12 hits with three home runs, five doubles and 16 RBIs.

Karlie Charles

* Karlie Charles, a senior pitcher for The Colony (Texas) High, has started the season on fire as she leads her district in strikeouts with 124 including 26 K’s this week in wins against Denton High and Denton Ryan High. She’s a signee with Iowa State and is also hitting .405 this season.

Previous 2019 Extra Inning Softball National High School Players of the Week
  • Mar. 11: OF/2B Tanya Windle (Cactus, Glendale, Arizona)
  • Mar. 4: SS Hallie Wacaser (Bentonville West, Centerton, Arkansas)
  • Feb. 25: P Stevie Hansen (Norco, California)

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Each week during the spring and summer high school seasons, Extra Inning Softball will honor a National High School Player of the Week.

The honoree will be announced every Monday night/Tuesday morning; cutoff for submitting the nominations is each Sunday at 11 pm EST/8 pm PST.

We’re looking for standouts who excelled in the circle, at the plate or in the field so be sure to nominate your favorite performance(s) by submitting the following:

  • Player Name
  • Grad Year (example: Class of 2018 or Senior)
  • Position(s)
  • High school team name with city/state
  • Stats for the week (be as detailed as possible!)
  • Up-to-date season stats if possible
  • Recruiting information if applicable
  • Any interesting background on the player
  • Action and/or head shots
  • If possible, contact info if we’d like more info or quotes

Email your info and photos (1-4 as available) by the cutoff of Sunday 11 pm EST/ 8 pm PST to: [email protected].

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