Behind a dominant outing in the circle and a late offensive surge, Apopka rolled past Seminole, 9-0, Tuesday night in a Class 7A District 3 semifinal. 

The Blue Darters (20-4), hosting this year’s district tournament, saw a complete-game performance from Mia Aeschilman, and a game-sealing slam from Taylor Smith to secure a spot in the district championship and extend the team’s winning streak to 14 games. 

Aeschilman was composed for a long night in the pitching circle. 

After allowing a leadoff single, she settled in quickly, inducing a flyout, recording a strikeout and getting a groundout to escape the opening inning. From there, she found a rhythm, retiring hitters efficiently and keeping Seminole off balance throughout the night. 

Apopka gave her an early lead in the bottom of the first. 

Shylah Pino doubled and advanced into scoring position before Smith drove her home with a line drive single to left. Ava Gonzalez followed with a double down the third base line, but Seminole limited the damage, holding the Darters to one run. 

For much of the game, offense was hard to come by. 

Aeschilman continued to deal, tossing back-to-back hitless innings while the Apopka defense backed her up with clean play in the field.  

In the fourth, Pino made a strong back-peddling grab in the shallow outfield. Alicia Lopez added a tough catch along the line, and Gonzalez secured a routine pop-up to keep Seminole off the board. 

Seminole threatened briefly in fifth, putting runners on and testing Apopka’s defense. But the Darters responded with key plays, including a force out at third by Lopez and a comebacker Aeschilman handled to end the inning. 

Still leading 1-0, Apopka’s offense finally broke through in the bottom half. 

Pino opened the inning with a shot to center field, and Lopez followed with another base hit to left. After Seminole intentionally walked Smith to load the bases, Riley Ford delivered a perfectly placed bunt that brought home a diving Pino. Gonzalez then drew a walk to force in another run, and Sydney Bartkin added a two-run single to left-center, stretching the lead to 5-0 and prompting a pitching change. 

Seminole escaped further damage in the fifth, but the Darters weren’t done. 

In the sixth, Alezia Hatcher reached on a single before Pino dropped down another well-placed bunt. Annamarie Lopez followed with a base hit to load the bases, setting the stage for Smith once again. 

The University of North Carolina signee showed why she was intentionally walked in her previous at-bat and made Seminole pay for pitching to her. 

Smith battled through multiple foul balls before launching a missile over the right field fence, breaking the game open with a grand slam to extend Apopka’s lead to 9-0. 

Aeschilman closed it out in the seventh, finishing her complete-game shutout. She allowed just three hits while controlling the pace from start to finish. 

Smith led the offense, going 2-for-2 with a home run and five RBIs. Pino added three hits, three runs and a stolen base, leading off strong throughout the night. 

With the win, Apopka advances to face rival Lake Brantley in the district championship at 7 p.m. Wednesday night. Lake Brantley defeated Ocoee 11-1 earlier in the evening to set up the matchup.