Williston softball one step closer to 'state championship' after win against Newberry

WILLISTON — Chey Boggs and Maci Vonderstrasse said the talk started May 12, 2022. That night, after falling 8-6 at Pierson Taylor in the FHSAA Class 1A, Region 4 softball semifinals, many of the Williston softball players who would be returning in 2023 spoke the words “state championship” for the first time.

“It began early,” Vonderstrasse, a senior center fielder, said. “That has been the goal since Day One.”

After defeating Newberry, 15-0, in Thursday night’s 4-inning, 1A-4 semifinal, top-ranked Williston (26-2) is three victories away from accomplishing that year-long objective.

However, up next in Tuesday’s regional final at WHS is the one team that has figured out Williston so far - third-ranked Dixie County (20-5), which is 2-0 against the Red Devils this season.

Williston will enter the regional final having won 15 consecutive games, while Dixie County is on a 9-game winning streak.

A senior catcher, Boggs said she is looking forward to the challenge.

“I’m ready for whatever they’ve got,” Boggs said.

Good and bad against the Panthers

Williston coach Carl Williams said he was mostly pleased with his team’s performance against Newberry (15-9), specifically citing aggressive baserunning and strong defense.

He said he was happy with how sophomore righthander Makenna Boyd (7-1) battled en route to allowing one hit and striking out four. Williams said Boyd worked from behind a little more than he wanted but added she hung in there and got outs when they were needed. That was most evident in the third and fourth innings when Boyd recorded the third out with two Panthers on base each time.

Williams, Boggs and Vonderstrasse all said they thought the team batted pretty well overall but each agreed the Red Devils need to string more hits together, instead of spreading them out.

“We’ve got to be sharper at the plate,” Williams said.

Vonderstrasse's home run key hit

Vonderstrasse drilled her second home run of the season in the bottom of the second when she took an inside pitch from Maddie Krecker and deposited the ball over the fence in left-center.

Her team’s leadoff hitter, Vonderstrasse said she knew immediately she had crushed it.

“I felt the pop (when I hit it),” Vonderstrasse said with a smile.

Vonderstrasse, Boggs and Livie Davis each had two hits against Newberry. Boggs led all players with three RBI and Vonderstrasse topped the Red Devils with three runs scored.

Dixie County will provide test

The Bears defeated Trenton, 3-1, on Thursday night to advance to the regional final.

They topped Williston, 3-2, in Cross City on Feb. 21 and beat the Red Devils, 7-5, in Williston on March 14.

“The first game was because of the umpires, but in the second one, our hitting was off,” Boggs said.

One trend in both contests was Dixie County jumping out quickly. The Bears got two in the first inning off of junior lefty Nevaeh Hayes in February and then Boyd gave up five runs in a little more than an inning in March.

Williams said the team tries to focus solely on the next game in front of them but acknowledged there is a little more meaning to facing Dixie County.

“The girls have been secretly waiting for this,” Williams said. “This is their chance to go at it against (the Bears).”

College signees for Williston

All five seniors for the Red Devils have signed national letters of intent to play college softball.

Boggs and Karley Jerrels have inked with Florida Gateway College (as has Dixie’s Peyton Hatcher). Vonderstrasse and Davis will play for Eastern Florida State College, and Raegan Geiger has signed with the College of Central Florida.

However, each hopes to win three more high school games before moving on.

“We want to keep it going,” Boggs said.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Williston Red Devils top Newberry Panthers in softball region semifinal