Lady Seahawks prep for district semis Tuesday

Following a midweek loss on the road to Wakulla, the Lady Seahawk varsity softball team bounced back with a hard-fought 2-0 win at home Friday night against a Class 5A Lincoln Lady Trojans ballclub.

“We played one of our best overall games of the season against Lincoln and overcame several obstacles to get the win,” said coach Scott Collins, whose team remains in sixth place in Class 1A rankings statewide, behind the Liberty County Lady Bulldogs.”

The girls banged out eight hits, led by two each by sophomores Raegan Dempsey and Ryan Brown.

But it was freshman Lexi Webb who drove in both runs without banging a hit of her own for the record books.

In the bottom of the first, Webb smacked a one-out, bases-loaded ground ball to the Lincoln shortstop to drive in a run. Her second RBI came in the bottom of the third, after sophomore Michalyn O’Neal had sacrifice bunted sophomore Sarah Ham from second to third. Webb then lofted a one-out sacrifice fly to the outfield to bring Ham home.

On the mound, Ham struck out 11, walked none and gave up just three hits to earn her 15th win of the year, and lower her earned run average to 2.33.

Sixth grader Shasta Butler hit a double in the game, while singles came at the hands of junior Taylor Mallon, seventh grader Addison Mallon and eighth grader Lilah Millender.

On April 19 in Crawfordville, the Lady Seahawks sustained a 4-0 shutout at the hands of Wakulla, who led from the bottom of the first the entire rest of the way.

“Wakulla played a little better than we did and we struggled to advance runners all night,” said Collins. “They have a good team and that game will make us better.”

The Lady Seahawks managed just two singles on the night, by Butler and by Brown.

Ham struck out nine on the night, walked two, and gave up three earned runs on five hits in six innings of work.

The Lady Seahawks play in the district semi-finals on Tuesday, May 2 at 6 p.m. ET in Blountstown against the winner of Bozeman and Blountstown. If they win that game, they play May 4 for the district championship. The FHSAA will then put out a new ranking based on the team’s current ranking and all the games they play from now until the district tournament.

“Based on where we are now, we have a good chance of making the state playoffs and even hosting a playoff game on May 11,” said Collins. “If we win on May 11, we will play the regional championship game on May 16, a game we could host also. If we win that one, we will go to the state Final Four and play on May 22 in the semi-finals. If we win that one, we will play on May 23 for the state championship.”

The Final Four will be played at Legends Field in Clermont.