Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
The Branford High School varsity softball team advanced through the FHSAA Class 1A playoffs to the State Championship series following their 2-0 win over the Aucilla Christian Warriors on Tuesday, May 16. The Buccaneers (23-4) traveled down to the State Championship as the number one overall seed, and would face off against the Jay Royals (16-11) in the Final Four matchup on Monday, May 22, at Legends Way Fields in Clermont, Fla.
In a pitcher's duel, the Buccaneers came out on top. Neither pitcher would allow a run through five innings; however, in the sixth inning, the Buccaneers scored two after a one-out walk to Morgan Brennan, which brought their power to the plate in Jesse “Ellie” Frierson.
Brennan wasted no time getting herself into scoring position by stealing second base. Frierson then doubled on a ball to right-center field, allowing Brennan to score to give the Buccaneers a 1-0 lead. Frierson would advance to third base following a throw to the plate from the outfield. Next, Alex Whitfield bunted, moving Frierson from third base to give the Buccaneers a 2-0 lead late in the game. Pitcher Laila Arnold had fought her way through six innings of the Royals constantly threatening to score. Yet, she was able to steer the Buccaneers clear of danger. Arnold would again come up big for her team in the sixth inning, this time with help from her center-fielder Frierson, who ended the Royals' threat with a diving catch.
Then, in the seventh inning, the Royals managed to load the bases before hitting a line drive to left-fielder Whitfield; while she recorded the out, the Royals finally got a run across the plate. The Royals still had two runners in scoring position when Arnold ended the game with a strikeout, earning the Buccaneers their first-ever appearance in the State Championship game.
On Tuesday, May 23, the girls were set to take on the Liberty County Bulldogs for the Class 1A State Championship. While the Buccaneers were ranked as the higher seed, the Bulldogs entered the game with eye-popping offensive numbers. The Buccaneers entered the State Championship game with a .291 batting average with nine home runs, as compared to the Bulldogs' .347 batting average with 35 home runs.
The game began with the Bulldogs striking with a 1-0 lead in the first inning, before the Buccaneers reclaimed the lead 2-1 in the second inning. Whitfield began the second inning with a walk, but would then steal second and third base to set up senior Makayla Williams to drive her in advanced Williams to second base with a hit to left field. Kaitlyn Osgood followed with a sacrifice bunt to advance Williams to third base, only to pressure the Bulldogs into an errant throw that allowed Williams to score the Buccaneers' second run of the inning.
However, the Bulldogs added another run in the third inning to tie the game at 2-2 when Brennan injured her leg catching a foul ball next to the third base dugout. When Brennan fell due to her injury, the speedy base runner tagged from third, allowing her to score. From there, a weather delay would postpone the game for an hour. Then, in the bottom of the third inning, the Buccaneers added two more runs off the bat of Ashlee Combee, who doubled on a ball to left-center field to take a 4-2 lead. But the Bulldogs would not go away, and added another run in the fourth inning to bring the score to 4-3. After a scoreless fourth inning, 4-4, with runners on first and second, and with no outs, when the game was postponed to the following morning due to weather.
The following day, both teams resumed their play with the Bulldogs up to bat, with no outs and runners on first and second. The Bulldogs executed a double steal, setting two runners in scoring position. The Buccaneers looked to be in trouble until a defensive play by third baseman Madyson Sikes held the runner at third base and recorded an out at first base. Arnold would get the second out of the inning with a change-up on a slap hitter, who stepped out of the batter's box while making contact and, by rule, was an automatic out. However, the Buccaneers were still in trouble when Arnold fell behind in the count with two balls and one strike. The Bulldogs’ hitter connected with the pitch for a three-run home run to give them a 7-4 lead.
Arnold would not allow another hit for the remainder of the game. However, her Buccaneers could not break through the Bulldogs’ defense. Despite Williams, Whitfield and Brennan all collecting hits in the fifth and seventh innings, the Buccaneers could not push another run across the plate. When the final out was made, the Buccaneers had fallen to the Bulldogs by a score of 7-4. The Buccaneers finished their season with a record of 25-5, and were crowned the Class 1A State Runners-up.
Frierson had a breakout season, batting .432 with three home runs and a team-high 41 hits with 23 runs batted in. Sikes hit a career-high of six home runs on the season, while batting .330 with 31 runs batted in. Cloey Criggall feasted on opposing defenses with 37 stolen bases, while batting .318 with 35 hits and 35 runs scored. Whitfield improved her batting average from a season ago by 160 points by batting .376 with 32 hits to go along with her first career no-hitter in the circle against the Fort White Indians on Thursday, March 30. Williams was the team's lone senior, and she did all she could to help her team bring home a state championship, including her 1-3 performance in the State Championship game with a run batted in and a run scored. Morgan Brennan held the Buccaneers' defense together all season from the catcher's position, while collecting 32 hits on the season with a .320 batting average and eight doubles. Utility player Rioux played second base and outfield for the Buccaneers with a batting average of .241 while collecting 20 hits on the season. In the State Championship series, Rioux batted .400 for her Buccaneers. Eighth-grade newcomer Ashlee Combee batted .234 with 13 runs batted in, including four during the playoffs and two in the State Championship game alone. Maya Brown also contributed in her first year for the Buccaneers, where she batted .114 with three doubles. Kaitlyn Osgood proved invaluable in her second season. While she played sparingly, she was vital to the Buccaneers' defense when Whitfield would go to the circle for her team. Also contributing in just her eighth-grade school year was Hunter Revis, whose primary role was as a pinch runner. Arnold had a career season by shattering the school single-season strikeout record of 200 with 258 strikeouts through 165.2 innings in the circle, including a no-hitter in the Regional Championship.