Bloomingdale gets past Hagerty to win Florida state softball title
The Bloomingdale Bulls are softball champs for the first time since 1993 as they staved off a comeback by Hagerty in the state championship game, winning 3-2 Thursday.
photo supplied: Kim Walters
The Class 8A state championship game against Oviedo Hagerty was best described as a nal-biter. The Bulls clung to a three-run lead heading into the seventh inning, but they gave up two runs and junior pitcher Lace Smith had to work out of a jam with runners on first and third and two outs.
“I wanted to pee my pants,” said Smith, according to Tampabay.com.
The final batter popped up and Hagerty, the top-ranked team in the 8A state poll, saw their comeback rally end.
Bloomingdale entered the postseason as a district runnerup and advanced by surviving three straight region games on the road that were all decided by two runs or fewer. Bloomingdale (26-2) was state champs.
“It’s unbelievable,” catcher Samantha Selden said to tbo.com. “It’s an amazing feeling.”
“We just all believed in ourselves,” Smith said in regards to the Bulls’ second state title, the first coming in 1993.
“It was most definitely a team win, from top to bottom,” first-year coach Mandy Schuerman told the press. “This year has been really unique, as in we’re not seeing the same player come up big every game. We’re having great defense consistently and consistently on the mound and offensively, we’re really getting a lot of production out of the lineup.”
Smith had seven strikeouts and two walks and received support from her defense, especially a 6-4-3 double play to end the sixth.
Hagerty finished 28-5 and this was their first trip to the state finals.
The 2014 Florida State (8A) girls softball champsion Bloomingdale Bulls photo supplied: Kim Walters
