SPRING HILL – One pitch. That’s all it took for Hernando County’s two remaining prep softball teams to have their dreams of a Final Four appearance dashed on Friday night.
In the Class 6A, Region II final, Springstead hosted Land O’ Lakes and lost an epic pitcher’s duel, 1-0. Meanwhile in the 5A-II finale, Nature Coast traveled to South Sumter and suffered a 3-1 defeat.
Both teams had a legitimate shot at their first-ever trip to the state semifinals, facing opponents they had previously seen in the regular season. Instead, they were left to look back at what was the finest campaign for both programs.
“Any loss is tough. It was a great game. It was just one of those deals. We played as hard as we could play. We did the best we could,” Springstead head coach Craig Swartout said. “We got beat by a good team tonight. There’s no excuses. The officiating was good. Hey, we just got beat.
“We won 27 games this year. That’s quite an accomplishment. And we don’t have any seniors. So we’re going to come back. It’s like I told the girls, ‘It’s not the end, it’s the beginning.’ You tip your hat to Land O’ Lakes.”
The Lady Eagles (27-2), who defeated the Lady Gators (27-2-1) way back on Feb. 2 to open the season, 1-0 in nine innings, had no answers for pitcher Shannon Saile, who tossed a no-hitter, walking two and striking out 13.
Through the first six innings, Saile faced one over the minimum. Kayla Cruz had walked to lead off the bottom of the second but advanced no further.
“She’s good,” Swartout said. “She’s been doing it to every team’s she’s played. You tip your hat and you say, ‘Hey, she did a heck of a job.’ She’s a great pitcher. If we had to lose to somebody, losing to a pitcher like that is nothing to hang your head about.”
Springstead junior Kama Woodall, a veteran of three Final Fours the previous three seasons at St. Petersburg-Canterbury, was virtually equal to the task. She walked Tia Williams with two outs in the first, then didn’t allow another batter to reach until Brianna Lindner’s infield single to deep short starting off the fifth.
Lindner was doubled off when third baseman Emily Kolwicz caught the next batter’s bunt on the fly and fired to first, and Woodall still had a 1-hitter intact after retiring the first two in the seventh.
That set up a battle with Lindner, who fouled off several pitches in the at-bat. Woodall clearly believed she had Lindner struck out, beginning to walk off the mound on one ball, before Lindner got a hold of a pitch she sent over the fence in left-center field for a solo home run.
It was the first long ball Woodall had given up all season, and only the second extra-base hit. The previous one was a double against Nature Coast on Feb. 12.
“It was a pitcher’s mistake, because I had her jammed up the whole time,” Woodall said. “There was no way she was going to hit a ball off me unless I let her hit it, and I did. I left one fat.”
Woodall still produced a spectacular line, permitting the one run on two hits and a walk while striking out eight in seven innings.
The Lady Eagles did mount a rally in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Paige Pfent lined a ball up the middle that hit off Saile, who recovered and made a short shovel throw to first that was dropped, putting the tying run on base.
Cruz followed by earning her second free pass of the night, and Woodall hit a long fly ball to left that barely missed being a walk-off, three-run homer and instead became a loud second out.
Megan Nelski hit another hard line drive to left, bobbled yet secured by the left fielder to end the game.
Despite the disappointment, both Swartout and Woodall looked forward to the future knowing the team is in a unique position of returning its entire roster.
“I walked on to this team thinking that we weren’t going to make it past the second round of districts,” Woodall said. “And then just the sheer work and the click we had with this team, the chemical energy, it was just insane. I, as a teammate, I’m so proud that we made it to the regional championship.
“The bitter taste is going to follow me for my problems, not for this team, because we have another year and I think we’re going to be back and better than ever next year.”
“I think it’s going to motivate the girls, because they’re all competitors. They want to win and they want to do good,” Swartout said. “Twenty-seven wins is great, and if you need motivation after a great game like that, you lose by one run, then we’re in the wrong business. We’ll be ready to go next year.”
Lady Sharks can’t cash in
Unlike Springstead, Nature Coast (25-5) had no trouble accumulating baserunners in its contest. However, the Lady Sharks left 11 on base against the Lady Raiders (23-2).
Back on April 5, Nature Coast visited South Sumter and went down, 6-4. However, pitcher Abbey Primavera had just returned from an ankle injury.
This time around Primavera was more than solid, yielding three earned runs on seven hits and no walks, striking out four in seven innings.
Kendall Funk put the Lady Raiders in front in the bottom of the first, driving in one on a double. In the top of the second, Chyloe Gonzalez singled and eventually scored on an error to tie it up.
With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, South Sumter pulled back ahead on Emily Hough’s two-run single and held the lead from there.
“Overall, Primavera pitched a fantastic game,” Nature Coast head coach Jug Olmstead said. “We played well. We only made one error. It was a well-played game.
“We accomplished a lot of our goals set at the beginning of the year. I couldn’t ask for much more. Things were set in place and I felt like we had a real opportunity to beat them, and it was nip and tuck. We had our opportunities. We couldn’t get the big hit.”
Though the Lady Sharks will lose some key players to graduation, Olmstead doesn’t believe this season will be an aberration.
“I’m real optimistic for next year,” Olmstead said. “We’ve got solid pitching coming back and some good young kids I brought up from JV who I think will fill some voids. I’m looking forward to next year.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.