The Landrum Middle School softball and baseball teams both took home the 2023 SJMSAA championship titles this May against 11 other softball teams and nine other baseball teams in the district.
The Lions softball team, with a season record of 11-2 and a team batting average of .373, faced off against Pacetti Bay at Beachside High School on May 18. The Lions took a formable lead, scoring five runs in the second inning, never relenting behind a strong defense that committed zero errors and a lineup that delivered six hits and 10 runs.
All told, Landrum won with a final score of 10-2. Led by coaches Heather Wiggins and Bob Straub, who coached the team for three years, it was truly a team effort.
It was the first trip to the championship game for the Lions since 2018.
The Landrum baseball team also took home the championship title on May 16 at Flagler College against Pacetti Bay. This team, with a season record of 11-2 and team batting average of .323, is no stranger to the championship game. In fact, they have played in the championship game for the past four years, finishing as runners-up in previous appearances.
The Lions changed their destiny, however, by scoring five runs in the third inning. Landrum had nine hits in the game and didn’t commit any errors in the field to hold strong and bring home a win of 10-4 for the championship title.
Coach Angel Ortiz led the team for the past nine years. Additionally, Will Arndt, Grady Harris, Patrick Oertli, Michael Perez, Jack Sproull and Carlos Willis were selected from the team to play on the all-star team.
