State Champions: Pace softball claims Class 6A state crown with revenge win over Bartow

The Pace softball team was not going to be denied again.

The Patriots, after a 2-0 win over Bartow, claimed the FHSAA Class 6A state championship on Friday in Clermont. It was a grudge match, after falling in heartbreaking fashion to the Yellow Jackets in 2023. But in 2024, the Patriots had a different story to tell.

Pace was not returning to Santa Rosa County empty-handed.

And now, the Patriots are on top of the world, capping off an incredible career for this team's senior class. Four consecutive trips to the state final four. Back-to-back trips to the state championship game. And now they can finally say they are state champions.

“It’s so awesome for our girls, and this coaching staff. Getting a rematch against Bartow, our girls were just calm and collected all day. I think I was more nervous than they were," Pace head coach Lexi Alexander said. "I was up at 6 o’clock this morning staring at the ceiling. And I’m not even playing. I’m on the sidelines. … They did amazing. They’re so awesome.”

It came down to a single swing – literally – for the Patriots to claim victory. Though, for a minute, things looked a little scary. In the bottom of the second inning, Bartow's Julia Heter ripped a triple to deep right field. Had it not been for the wind, it likely would've gone over the fence.

But Heavener wasn't phased, striking out the next two batters of the inning. In the next frame, with two outs, Shelby McKenzie drew a walk to get Pace's offense started. Then Heavener, the second batter in the lineup, ripped a moonshot over that same field-field fence for a two-run home run, putting the Patriots on the board.

And for a moment, it was Heavener's world. And we were all just living in it.

"That was clutch on Jayden’s part," Alexander said. "Shelby drawing a walk and Jayden hitting behind her, that was awesome.”

"Right when (Heavener) hit it, I knew it was gone," McKenzie said.

After that, Heavener shut down Bartow. She finished the game with 16 strikeouts, capping off an excellent high-school career for the Louisiana State University signee.

Pace heads back to northwest Florida with a 28-2 record, undefeated against all Florida opponents on the year, and a championship trophy in tow.

"Just knowing that we came in and made this program so much better than we found it, it means so much to us," McKenzie said. "It was all worth it. I’d do it all over again.”

"Now I get to stop hearing how we should do it,” Alexander said with a laugh. “But no, people say that because they have high expectations for us. And we have high expectations for ourselves as well. It is huge to get here. People don’t understand how huge it is. We made it past yesterday and we made it to today. We were just so fortunate to play for a state championship – and win it.”

'We finally got it done together'

Pace says a prayer at the end of every softball game around the pitcher’s circle.

By the time the prayer comes around, the white-painted dirt is pretty beat up. But usually, it’s two softball teams that come together for the greater good. After all, softball is just a game. At the end of seven innings – or sometimes less due to the Patriots’ offensive prowess, run-ruling multiple teams this year – it’s a time for the Patriots to reflect.

It’s a normal prayer, Shelby McKenzie said. It’s the Lord’s Prayer. The same prayer is said after every game.

Even though the same prayer was said on Friday night in Clermont, there was just something different about it. More than the fact that Pace had just won the state championship.

“It felt different knowing it was my last one. We said it loud and proud,” Heavener said. “It’s a bittersweet feeling, knowing it’s my last one. But it’s the best one.”

“I was starting to cry,” McKenzie said. “It was so sweet.”

Everything just seemed a little bit different for Pace after the final pitch of Friday’s win.

Friday’s predecessor was three years of heartbreak for the Patriots. Two state semifinal losses in 2021 and 2022, and then a state championship loss against Bartow in 2023. The Patriots’ seniors needed it to be different this time around.

They had worked too hard to fall short again.

Ever since this group of seniors were freshmen, the pressure had been on to win it all.

“There was so much pressure on them the last four years,” Alexander said. “Heck, look how good they’ve been the last four years.”

Over the past four seasons, Pace only suffered 16 losses, as opposed to 101 wins in that same timeframe. Alexander took over entering the 2023 season – and the team’s four losses only came to state champions. Three losses to Orange Beach (Alabama) and last year’s loss to Bartow.

Not a bad statistic. It’s no secret that Pace was good enough to make four consecutive runs to the state final four.

“It’s not like we haven’t deserved it,” Heavener said. “We worked so hard to get here – we deserved it.”

“We finally got it done together,” McKenzie said.

Take a bow, Jayden

It's hard to single out one player on this star-studded Pace roster.

But after Heavener gave up a triple early in the game against Bartow, quickly followed by two strikeouts, that just showed what kind of poise the future LSU softball player brings to the diamond.

Pitching on both Thursday and Friday, it was the first time all year that Heavener had thrown back-to-back complete, seven-inning games. There were a few instances where Heavener started consecutive days, but didn't have to go the distance.

Heavener noted she didn't feel well on Thursday, but Pace still found the 1-0 win. After ensuring Heavener was plenty hydrated going into Friday's game, the Patriots' ace "pitched her butt off," Alexander said. It's what she's done all year, throwing 322 strikeouts on the year.

In Friday's game, Heavener only surrendered two hits. One of which was that triple. Pace assistant coach Danny Worrell called timeout after the hit and brought the infield together.

"I feel like I know the right time to call a timeout to help a kid settle down. I walked over to her and asked, ‘You OK?’ She said, ‘Yes, sir,’ and I said, ‘Well, we’re going to strike these next two out and go hit.’ They hadn’t scored yet. I thought she started panicking a bit, and lost a little confidence. … Jayden Heavener should never lose any confidence."

Worrell predicted correctly, and Heavener struck out the next two batters on nine pitches, stranding that runner at third base.

"You know she’s going to do it. The last inning, I told her we were going to only face three batters," Worrell said. "Jayden always comes through. It’s unbelievable.”

Worrell was correct again. Heavener got through the final three batters on just seven pitches, including two more strikeouts.

(Jayden) is so clutch in those situations where she could easily do that, strike those two girls out next," Alexander said.

And that's just Heavener's skillset at the pitcher's circle.

Remember the aforementioned two-run home run? More specifically, it was a 3-2 count with two outs. One strike would've ended the inning, leaving the game scoreless. Heavener had other plans.

"I knew we would score with Shelby, so we’d get at least one run. Then it went over (the wall)," Alexander said. "(Jayden) was jumping up and down before she even got to first base, so she must’ve known, too.”

"As soon as I saw it come off my bat, I was just so excited," Heavener said.

'We just want to try to keep the program going'

The moment fades away, but memories of the state championship never will.

But once the dust settles and the trophy is rightfully, and safely, placed on the shelf, the question becomes, "What happens next?"

It took Pace four years for it to finally come together. They're on top of the world right now. But it's a different story when February 2025 rolls around, and the first pitch of the regular season is thrown for the Patriots.

The seniors will be gone. A handful of them will be playing college softball around the country. Returning players will be asked to fill the shoes of those who departed.

And a quest to defend a state championship will be on their mind.

“It means a lot, having girls look up to me," Heavener said. "I’m just very proud I can leave this mark.”

"(People) said, ‘We’re going to bury you in red, white and blue.’ I’m OK with that," said Worrell, who lives in Milton, noting he is now 'Patriot proud'. "We just want to try to keep the program going. This group’s been special. We’ve got some good young ones coming up.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace softball wins state championship with tight win over Bartow