LaBelle softball drops dramatic pitcher's duel in Class 4A state semifinal to Eustis
LaBelle junior pitcher Abby Hicks allowed only one hit in the Cowgirls' Class 4A state semifinal game Wednesday afternoon.
Unfortunately, it was the only hit Eustis would need.
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, a hard-hit ball by Katie Short just eluded LaBelle shortstop Marissa Burchard and rolled into center field as courtesy runner Kaylen Bublitz scored from second to lift the Panthers to a 2-1 walk-off win in Clermont.
"I feel, not taking away from the other two teams, I feel like that was the championship game there," LaBelle coach Ray Marroquin said. "I want to see somebody play better than us. I think they’ll win it all."
Hicks had a no-hitter going to that point with two walks and two hit batters before the seventh. She opened the seventh by hitting Emery Luke. Bublitz went in to run and after a strikeout, Hicks' fifth, she moved to second on a groundout to third. That's when Short put an end to LaBelle's first state appearance in 19 seasons.
"All year long, (Abby) has been phenomenal," Marroquin said. "She works hard. She'll go to a lesson and come back to practice even if for 15 minutes. She's dedicated. I couldn’t ask for anybody better. From the moment she got here, I said, 'Are you ready?' and she said, 'Yes sir.' I knew she was relaxed and ready to go."
State Preview: Cowgirls riding high into LaBelle's first state semifinal in nearly 20 years
Panthers pitcher Skyler Cloud was equally as dominant. Through six innings she had allowed only one hit to Burchard in the fourth inning and one hit batter in the same inning as the Cowgirls had their only real threat before the seventh. LaBelle had runners at first and third with two outs but a strikeout ended the rally.
'“She kept things inside," Marroquin said. " She was not giving us the opportunity to square up on the ball. We were used to seeing people spin the ball but kept us off balance and fed us inside and then when we thought we had her she’d throw a changeup."
That was until the top of the seventh. Trailing 1-0, Carli Spencer led off with a shallow fly ball to right that was dropped by the fielder. Emori Anderson followed with a ground ball to Cloud, who through out Spencer at second. With two outs and Brooke Black batting, Anderson reached second on a wild pitch and Black then launched a 2-2 offering over the left fielder's head for a double to tie the game. Payton Crews could not give LaBelle the lead as she lined out to center field to end the frame.
“All year long been they've been scrappers and fight like that," Marroquin said. "These last few games we beat people pretty good but always we never give up and fight back. The girls just don’t quit. We just happened to not come out on top of it today."
The game's first run came in the third as Eustis' Short led off by being hit by a pitch. Courtesy runner Dalilah Taylor was safe at second on a fielder's choice. With two outs Taylor went to steal third and the throw to third went into left field to give the Panthers (25-2) the 1-0 lead.
The Cowgirls (24-7) hitters had been riding high outscoring their five playoff opponents 53-5 and having scored at least 10 runs for six consecutive games. But Cloud shut them down in order in five of the seven innings and finished with six strikeouts and no walks.
“No doubt about it, this team is a special team," said Marroquin, who led the only other Cowgirls team to reach the state semifinals in 2005. "One of those I've been blessed to coach. Although it's my second team that was good enough to get here, I'm gonna say it's a once in a lifetime because this group is all the way around solid. That first team was great on defense but not on offense. This team could play defense and could hit. A lot of the girls play club and travel ball and are used to big games. I don’t have the words. Just really solid."
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Eustis walks off a win to beat LaBelle in Class 4A softball semifinal
