The Apopka Blue Darters softball team heads into spring break off a tough loss at Horizon, where they out-hit the Hawks but lost 10-7.  

Horizon (9-3) broke through for six runs in the fourth inning to deliver the decisive blow. The Darters were left pondering missed opportunities after blowing a five-run lead and stranding five runners in scoring position. 

Apopka opened the road matchup with three quick runs when Taylor Smith, a University of North Carolina signee, tripled on a line drive to right, scoring Shylah Pino and Alicia Lopez. Bartkin ripped a sacrifice fly to left to bring home Smith. 

Horizon answered in the bottom of the first with two runs off one hit, three walks and an error.  

The Blue Darters bats got hot in the third inning when Smith started a rally of singles. Alezia Hatcher, Sydney Bartkin, Ava Gonzalez and Victoria Shaw ripped consecutive singles to score three runs. Gonzalez stole home off a wild pitch to make it 7-2. 

Mia Aeschilman pitched back-to-back three up, three down innings in the second and third, but the Hawks erupted in the fourth.  

After a single brought home the leadoff baserunner, the Hawks worked a walk to force a pitching change. Ava Millspaugh came on in relief and walked four, allowing three runs to score, before a groundball single up the middle scored two to give Horizon an 8-7 lead. 

Apopka left a runner on base in both the fourth and fifth innings, then left two more on in the sixth. 

Horizon capped off the game with two more runs in the bottom sixth inning, winning the game 10-7 despite being out-hit by that same margin. 

Smith went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored. 

The Blue Darters hit spring break with a 6-4 record, with 14 games remaining on their schedule. Apopka as a team is batting .389 and has scored 95 runs off 110 hits.  

The pitching staff has allowed 41 runs off 75 hits, giving the team a +54 run differential. Aeschilman has 27 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched while Millspaugh boasts a 1.90 ERA over 29 innings. 

At the plate, shortstop Shylah Pino leads the Blue Darters in multiple categories with hits in nine out of 10 games this season. She is batting .611 with an on-base percentage of .632 and only one strikeout on the season. She has 22 hits, 15 runs scored and six stolen bases. 

Catcher Taylor Smith leads the team with an .880 slugging percentage. She has two home runs and 12 RBIs with an on-base percentage of .548. Third baseman Alicia Lopez has a .548 batting average with the most doubles (four), plus 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored. 

Apopka returns from spring break with a road trip against Windermere and Mount Dora Christian Academy on March 24 and 26.