Last weekend, three Hernando County Dixie Softball All-Star squads headed down to Okeechobee to participate in the state tournament, and all of them managed to come away with at least one victory.
Spring Hill’s Ponytails (age 11-12) had the best showing, going 2-2 in the traditional division. With a young roster, Spring Hill opted for traditional over X-play because the rules more closely mimic those in the Angels (9-10) age group. As a result, Spring Hill bypassed the district level.
“I thought the girls played really, really well,” Spring Hill Ponytails head coach Scott Budlove said. “The heat really killed us. The way the tournament was set up, there was a lot of lag time and the girls were out in the heat.
“Defensively, we were fantastic. Our infield made next to no errors. Our outfield was keeping everything in front of them, doing what they needed to do to limit extra-base hits. Everybody was hitting real well. We had a lot of stolen bases. All around we played well. I can’t fault the girls when the kids hit the ball where you ain’t. When they get hits in the gaps, there’s not a lot you can do about that.”
On July 8, Spring Hill suffered a tough loss in its opener, going down to Franklin County, 6-5 in eight innings. The next day, the local crew bounced back to beat Freeport, 15-2, and Frostproof, 11-0, as Alexis Lendo and Kelsey Shumate threw back-to-back no-hitters. Shumate was a walk away from a perfect game, and struck out eight in five innings.
But Spring Hill’s momentum came to a halt on Sunday, with a 16-11 defeat at the hands of Belleview.
“We should have won the first game,” Budlove said. “If we win that first game, we never drop to the loser’s bracket. If we don’t drop to the loser’s bracket, we don’t play a doubleheader on Saturday and don’t succumb to the heat the way we did. We’re not crying about it, but I really believe we were the best team down there.”
Lendo had eight hits in 12 at-bats, including two home runs, and tallied nine runs batted in plus six runs scored. Dominique Sekelsky and Emerrald Taull totaled four RBI apiece. Ava Rozsa hit .455 with five runs and Faith Budlove posted a .417 average and five runs. Alexis Nobisso hit at a .429 clip.
At the end of the tournament, Spring Hill received the Sportsmanship Award. Coach Budlove dubbed that his biggest highlight.
“I’m so proud of the kids,” Coach Budlove said. “They really, really worked hard for a long time. That’s what hurts. They worked that hard for that long and get beat out in the state tournament. I couldn’t be more proud of the class that we showed.”
In the Debs (age 17-19) division, Spring Hill and Brooksville also advanced directly to states, and each went 1-2.
Spring Hill fell to eventual champ West Pasco, 23-2, then faced Hernando Youth League-Brooksville the next day, earning a 15-10 victory. The third game ended in a loss to Franklin County, 17-0.
“We went down with a very young team,” Spring Hill Debs head coach Ralph Farmer said. “The girls played really well and came together as a team.”
Farmer praised the play of Haley Jutting, Megan McClellan, Sydney Picerno, Kaylee Higgins, Ly-nia Fields, Alexis Statulo and Taylor Major.
“Of course everybody’s goal is to go to the World Series,” Farmer said. “But we came together as a team. We didn’t get the results we wanted, but everybody pulled for each other. I’m proud to be the manager of those girls.”
Brooksville lost to Franklin County, 15-1, before beating Okeechobee, 4-3, preceding the eliminating loss to Spring Hill. Like the Spring Hill Ponies, Brooksville’s Debs collected the Sportsmanship Award.
Katlynn Johnson had a particularly strong performance in the Okeechobee victory, throwing a complete game and scoring the winning run on a steal of home in the bottom of the seventh inning. Olivia Townsend also played well, and the oldest player on the roster, 18-year-old Irene Hoffman, provided leadership.
“I’m very excited. We accomplished what had not happened since 2012. That was the last time HYL won a (state) game,” Brooksville head coach Sharon Hoffman said. “And to come home with the sportsmanship trophy, I’m so proud of what the team accomplished.”
Follow Chris Bernhardt Jr. on Twitter @cpbernhardtjr.