By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
The Blue Darter softball team bounced back after losing to No. 34 Horizon last week, posting wins over Olympia, Evans and Cornerstone Charter Academy this week. The team went 3-1 in the Metro Conference Tournament and carries a three-game winning streak into the home stretch of its regular season schedule.
Apopka vs. Olympia (20-0)
The result of this game was a forgone conclusion after the Blue Darters opened with a nine-run first inning. The Blue Darters tamed Olympia Titans at the plate, giving up just two hits and tossing a shutout.
Apopka scored nine runs in the first inning, two in the second, three in the fourth and six in the fifth.
The nine runs in the first inning came on a two-run home run from Taylor Smith, an RBI single from Alicia Lopez, a two-run Olympia fielding error, a dropped third strike, a Hagan Mcgatlin RBI groundout, another Olympia fielding error, and finally, a double by Sydney Bartkin to cap off the big rally.
The two runs in the second came from a fielding error by Olympia to send in the first run, followed by a bases-loaded walk. The runs in the fourth inning started with a double by Shylah Pino that sent in two runs. Smith followed up with a sacrifice fly that sent in a third run to put Apopka up 14-0.
In the fifth inning, Apopka closed out the game with six more runs. The Titan’s fielding continued falling apart as two more errors allowed three runs to score. Braylyn Pirillo smacked a line drive double to center field to send in two more runs and then advanced to third before finding herself at home plate on a wild pitch to bring in the 20th run of the game.
Pirillo, Smith and Lopez stood out at the plate in the overwhelming victory. Pirillo went 2-for-2 with two runs, five RBIs and two doubles. Smith went 1-for-3 at the plate, collecting two runs, three RBIs, one home run and one stolen base. Lopez went 1-for-1 with two runs, one RBI and three stolen bases.
The Apopka bullpen pitched another shutout in this victory, with Ava Millspaugh and Bartkin giving up just two hits in their time on the mound. Millspaugh started and earned the win with 3 and 2/3 innings of shutout ball. She struck out two and gave up two hits while throwing 37 pitches, 26 for strikes.
Bartkin came in to relieve and finished the game, giving up no hits or runs. In one inning of work, Bartkin collected two strikeouts and threw 19 pitches, nine of which were strikes.
Apopka vs. Evans (16-0)
Like the win over Olympia, this game was decided in the first inning. Apopka scored seven runs in the first inning and never looked back. They dominated the Evans Trojans, forcing the run rule in just three innings.
The Blue Darters scored seven runs in the first inning, three in the second and six in the third to end the game. The seven-run first inning started, once again, with a home run from Smith that sent in the first two runs. Then, a double by Lopez sent in the third run followed by a single by Ava Gonzalez that sent in the fourth. Three singles by Skyla Durand, Reese Kernz and Pino sent in the next three runs, upping the score to 7-0.
The runs in the second came from a double by Bartkin that sent in one, a single by Riley Ford that sent in another, and another single from Gonzalez put Apopka on top 10-0.
Apopka’s six-run third inning started with a single from Callie Sowers that sent in the 11th run. Hazel Bowman reached base due to a Trojans’ fielding error and sent in the 12th run. Mcgatlin followed up with a double to center field to send in run 13. The 14th run was sent in on a wild pitch from Evans. The last two runs of the game came on a hard grounder from Durand that was a fielder’s choice that sent in one run and a single from Pirillo to send in the game’s final run. Apopka was up 16-0 going into the bottom of the third and quickly finished the game.
The Blue Darters had eight players with a perfect batting average in this game: Smith, Gonzalez, Ford, Mcgatlin, Pirillo, Pino, Kernz and Sowers. Leading the Blue Darters at the plate were Durand, Smith and Ford. Durand went 1-for-2, collecting two runs and two RBIs. Smith went 1-for-1, collecting one run, two RBIs and a home run. Ford went 1-for-1 while scoring two runs and grabbing one RBI.
Apopka’s Mia Aeschilman made her first appearance on the mound this season in the win over Evans after injuries have sidelined her until now. Throwing a shutout in her first appearance this season, Aeschilman collected two strikeouts and only gave up two hits while throwing 36 pitches, 28 of which were strikes.
After the game, head coach Mike MacWithey told me he was very happy with Aeschilman’s time on the mound. He told me that, with her just returning from injury, he had her mostly throwing fastballs.
“We didn’t call a lot of movement pitches; she was just throwing fastballs and change-ups,” MacWithey said. “That’s the reason why they got a couple of hits on us as well. They never would’ve gotten a hit if she was throwing screwballs, drop balls and rise balls, but that’s ok. It’s still a shutout for her.”
MacWithey also said the game made his team grateful for their renovated softball complex.
“I take away from the game how blessed we are,” MacWithey said. “One of my players mentioned it as well. You know, the girl looked at this field and went, ‘Wow, it doesn’t quite compare to ours.’ And she looked me in the face and said, ‘Thank you for all you do.’ It makes you feel good that they (the team) recognize that your facility is important, your field is important – you know if you look good, you feel good, you play good.”
On Wednesday, Apopka continued its dominant run, defeating No. 44 Cornerstone Charter Academy (CCA), 13-1, on the road. CCA dropped to 15-5 and saw its 11-game winning streak come to an abrupt end. Taylor Smith, Ava Gonzalez, Skyla Durand and Shylah Pino each delivered multi-hit games in the big win.
