'Unfinished business': Baldwin softball ready for rematch in FHSAA state semifinals
In Clermont, Jennifer Shields knows Baldwin's softball players won't see pickup trucks surrounding the wall. They won't hear fireworks and horns blasting for victories.
After three months of stampeding through the schedule in front of Duval County's most passionate softball crowd, Baldwin has learned how to adjust for the trip to Lake County's rolling hills to complete the mission — a mission that came up short last time.
"Last year, we didn't know what to expect," Baldwin head coach Shields said. "It was everybody's first time there, and I think we were kind of in awe of the moment."
A little older and a little more seasoned, Baldwin readies for a rematch with defending champion Clearwater Calvary Christian in the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 3A softball semifinals, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont.
The winner advances to the FHSAA championship at 1 p.m. Thursday against Montverde Academy or Silver Palms Somerset Charter.
Just as in 2022, Baldwin is still young: The lineup includes only one senior, Chloe Stepherson. And the goal is still formidable: They're aiming to become the first Duval County public school to earn the state championship in fast-pitch softball.
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YOUNG BALDWIN GROWS UP FAST
At a middle-senior combination school that stretches from sixth grade to twelfth, softball's next generation starts young, strengthening its foundation year by year.
The 2019 team, which began the five-year streak of winning seasons, laid the foundation for the current roster with multiple middle-school starters. Kendall North at first base and outfielder Rylan Gray were in sixth grade then. Catcher Cali Hartung and outfielder Riley Page were in seventh. All are now key contributors, although Page has been out of action due to injury.
The middle school conveyor belt has kept rolling on, from sixth-grader (now freshman) Jazmine Ramos-Merced in the coronavirus-shortened 2020 season to eighth-grade leadoff spark-plug Amiyah Jones this spring.
Even before the players' first steps on campus, the seeds of future Baldwin victories were already taking root. Several starters have been playing together for nearly a decade in club ball.
The result might be the deepest lineup in Northeast Florida softball, one that's combined for 96 extra-base hits with a team batting average of .342.
"We've always had a great bond, always being there for one another," Gray said.
Once their time arrives, they're ready for the test, like junior Shaylen Byrd. The pitcher spent most of last season waiting for her chance behind since-graduated starter Piper Young. She's completed the transition to starter smoothly, striking out 226 batters with a 1.71 ERA.
"If we all play together and we all play like we have been these past few games, we've got it at state," Byrd said.
'UNFINISHED BUSINESS'
Unlike last season, Baldwin now grasps the challenge that lies ahead in Clermont, a neutral site that's a world apart from the anything-but-neutral atmosphere of the usual home crowd.
"We know what the surroundings are going to be like. It's not going to be like it is here," Ramos-Merced said. "I just think we've got to be pumped up from the get-go."
They've been pumped up for weeks: Since a late-season hiccup that included losses to Fort White, Oakleaf and University Christian in a span of fewer than two weeks, Baldwin has won its last nine games, including three victories over West Nassau and two over Episcopal in the district and regional finals.
"When one person wasn't hitting, another person would be hitting, and they just put it all together," Shields said. "They turned it on."
Still, Shields knows only too well that late-season momentum doesn't necessarily mean final victory. Last year, Baldwin rolled into Clermont at 26-2, only for Calvary Christian to end their hopes 5-3 in an extra-inning semifinal.
The Warriors (20-7) present formidable opposition this year as well, including a nationally-recruited class of 2025 pitcher in Morgen Talley (10-2, 1.07 ERA, 150 K; .422, 9 HR, 35 RBI). But Baldwin is eager for another chance.
"We thought we had unfinished business last year," Shields said. "We didn't play as well as we should've. We're just really excited and this group of girls worked really hard this year to get back to it."
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school softball 2023: More seasoned Baldwin awaits FHSAA semis
