Building a dynasty: Parrish Community High softball team ready to defend Class 5A state title

The Parrish Community High softball team has become one of the best in Florida since its inception four years ago and it will have a chance to add to its already-impressive trophy case this week.

After winning its first state championship last season, Parrish returns to the 5A state tournament in Clermont on Thursday, beginning with a state semifinal game against Horizon at 10:30 a.m. at Legends Way Ballfield.

If Parrish wins, it will play the winner of Gainesville vs. Archbishop McCarthy at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the 5A state championship.

Mission accomplished: Parrish Community High softball team wins 2023 Class 5A state title

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It may seem staggering to some that Parrish has become a title contender in such short order, but the program’s newness might be its best asset according to head coach Erin Spivey.

“It was really exciting to be able to build a program from scratch and put your name on it exactly the way you want it done,” said the 2023 Florida Dairy Farmers Softball Coach of the Year. “Whenever you take over a program at another school, a lot comes with that. You have to change the culture. You have to change the identity of it. And you have to get the kids to buy in.

“Here, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start from the very beginning and mold it the way I wanted to mold it.”

Spivey returns, players follow

Spivey, a Parrish native, never had the chance to represent her hometown on a softball field until recently.

After playing at Palmetto High School, State College of Florida and then Barry University in Miami, Spivey returned to southwest Florida as a coach at Braden River High School.

Though she said she enjoyed coaching with the Pirates – as an assistant, a head coach and a weightlifting coach – she stepped away from the game for some time to help raise her young children.

But as her children began to grow up and it was time to decide which high school to send them to, Parrish Community High was being built, and she couldn’t resist the idea of getting back into coaching back where she grew up.

“I’ve lived in Parrish my whole life. So, I really wanted to give something back to my hometown and my community,” Spivey said. “I felt like my entire career, I’ve been helping other communities. As soon as they named a principal and an athletic director, I reached out.”

It wasn’t long before word of Spivey’s arrival spread and some talented players wanted to follow her lead.

“I actually had a chance to go to a different school, but I chose this one instead, honestly because of coach Spivey,” said senior cleanup hitter Ella Romano, who has played at Parrish alongside several of her teammates for four straight years. “She is such an amazing coach and I wanted to play under her.”

But even though Spivey didn’t have trouble attracting talented players, kickstarting a new program didn’t come without its challenges.

A rocky start

Parrish couldn’t have had tougher timing as it began its first-ever varsity season in the spring of 2020.

After winning eight straight games to open its season, COVID-19 shut down the remainder of the year, leaving the newfound Bulls in the lurch.

Already set back one season, it took them the entire next season to find their identity – losing in the district championship and then the regional quarterfinals in Year 2.

Everything started to click for Parrish in Year 3 as the team went 24-4, but a laundry list of injuries kept it from reaching its true potential. The Bulls did win their first district championship that season, but the ride came to a quick end two games later in the regional semifinals.

“About half of the lineup ended up with season-ending injuries,” Spivey said of Year 3. “They could have really gone far if we didn’t have those injuries.”

Finally, a healthy – and experienced – Parrish team was able to break through in Year 4, riding the pitching of Isa Vega (14-2 record, 0.67 ERA) and Ella Torres (7-1 record, 0.97 ERA) all the way to a 5A state championship last season.

But with Vega and Torres graduating last spring, no one was exactly sure if Parrish would be able to maintain its success or if it would have to reset its expectations.

“I wouldn’t say I had any doubts, but I was questioning it a little bit because we did lose quite a bit of good players like Isa (Vega), Ella Torres and our other seniors,” Romano said. “They were all great players, so I was questioning it a little bit.”

Building a dynasty

What the doubters didn’t know about Parrish was that first baseman Rylee Little was more than up to the challenge of replacing Vega and Torres in the circle.

After starring as the team’s first baseman last season, the left-handed senior has been invaluable in the circle for Parrish this season – pitching every inning of the playoffs.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the kid,” Spivey said of Little, who has a 13-5 record, a 1.80 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 120 ⅓ innings. “She has worked her tail off and has really grown in confidence, as a teammate and as a leader. She’s doing everything she told me she wanted to do.”

But it hasn’t just been Little that’s made a world of difference this season.

Parrish’s success attracted some enthusiastic newcomers who wanted to be a part of the championship chasing, and they’ve been essential in helping the Bulls return to the state tournament.

Parrish has started four freshmen this season, including leadoff hitter Kyndal France, No. 2 hitter Alysa Jones, center fielder Lina Chapman and designated hitter Mackenzie Pandelo.

“Originally, I was going to Lakewood Ranch, and then this school got built and I was zoned here,” said Jones, who leads Parrish with a .456 batting average and 24 RBI. “It just so happened they were an amazing team, and I was absolutely pumped to come here.

“I could only have dreamt that we would go back to the state tournament. As a freshman, you never anticipate going this far, and I’m so lucky and so blessed to have this opportunity.”

Now in Year 5, Parrish has gone 87-26 (.769 winning percentage) since its first season and has already won three district championships, two regional championships and one state title.

Regardless of how the 5A state tournament plays out this week in Clermont, it’s safe to say that the Bulls have firmly established themselves as a team to be reckoned with in Florida high school softball.

But winning one more state title surely wouldn’t hurt.

“I think if we go out there and play our game and worry about us, and make sure we’re doing what we need to do correctly, then there’s no regrets at the end of the day,” Spivey said.

“That’s what I want for the kids. I don’t want them to ever regret anything. I want them to leave it all out on the field.”

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Parrish Community High softball team ready to defend 5A state title