By Marshall Tempest
Reporter
The Apopka softball team trailed the Atlantic Coast Stingrays 6-3 going into the sixth inning of Thursday night’s Class 7A Regional Quarterfinals matchup. But, down to their final six outs, the Blue Darters delivered a clutch seven-run rally that secured a 10-9 win and a spot in the second round of the state tournament.
Apopka jumped out to an early lead when Riley Ford drove in two runs on a single in the top of the first. But the Stingrays took a commanding 6-2 lead after scoring a run in the first, three in the second and two in the third. The Stingrays’ three-run second inning was fueled by a perfectly placed triple to the right field wall.
In the fourth inning, Apopka clawed back a run on a sacrifice fly from Braylyn Pirillo. That cut the lead to 6-3, but the Stingrays regained a four-run lead in the fifth with their seventh run of the night.
Through five innings, Atlantic Coast’s sophomore pitcher Morgan Brown was cruising. She only needed 59 pitches to complete five frames—almost exactly half as many as the 117 Apopka starter Ava Millspaugh and reliever Mia Aeschilman tossed to complete five innings.
But the game took a dramatic turn in the sixth. Hagan Mcgatlin’s RBI single started the seven-run rally, putting the Blue Darters down 7-4 with one out and a runner on first. After Brown secured a strikeout, Apopka faced two outs with runners on first and second for the top of the Apopka lineup.
The top of Apopka’s lineup features major power hitters, but they played small ball to win this game. Shylah Pino, Taylor Smith, Sydney Bartkin, Ford and Alicia Lopez came through with five straight two-out singles to quickly give the Blue Darters a 10-7 lead.
“We were overthinking a little bit early,” head coach Mike MacWithey said. “The overthinking part was that we were putting bunts down when we shouldn’t have put bunts down. We ran an extra base, and we shouldn’t have run an extra base. And that’s just dumb softball. We just needed to trust how good we are at hitting and out-hit them. And we did it.”
But the game wasn’t over as Atlantic Coast answered in the bottom of the sixth with two runs. Up 10-9, the Blue Darters had one more chance to put up some insurance runs before they were defending their lead in a win-or-go-home situation.
Atlantic Coast’s pitcher Brown stayed on the mound all night and recovered from the seven-run rally in the sixth and delivered a shutout seventh. It was up to the Blue Darters’ Bartkin, who came on the mound in the sixth, to close out the game and continue their season.
Bartkin made quick work of the Stingray batters, securing the win by forcing a groundout, a strikeout and a flyout. With the victory, Apopka moves on to the Class 7A Regional Semifinal round of the state tournament, where the Blue Darters may have a chance for redemption once again against a rival.
After the game, MacWithey repeated to the girls what he had told them beforehand, reciting a fortune cookie he had gotten at dinner Wednesday night.
“The fortune cookie said, ‘You will be rewarded for your hard effort,'” MacWithey said. “I read that before the game. I read that after the game. I honestly believe we work harder than any team around. Heck, I know it. And I explained it to the kids. You could see that in the fight at the end of the game. We threw everybody we had at them. We threw everything and the kitchen sink at them.”
MacWithey praised the Stingrays for their speed and fundamentals, such as their fantastic bunting ability. He also stressed how much of a team win it was, as he used nearly every player on his 17-person roster.
MacWithey said he was happy with the pitching and fielding but admitted both had problems in the first few innings. He said he changed their game plan on the mound in the fourth inning, and that was a key factor in turning the game around.
“We changed the methodology of our pitching approach in the fourth inning,” MacWithey said. “I think we pitched good enough once that methodology got corrected. Defensively, I still think we didn’t do as well as we could have. We had a couple of plays that we should have made but didn’t. And that’s because they’re fast as heck, so that’s why they are such a great team. They were better than we expected.”
Aeschilman came away with the win for Apopka. She killed the Stingrays’ momentum and gave the Blue Darters a chance to fight back in the middle innings. Aeschilman finished the game giving up three earned runs on six hits while collecting two strikeouts across four innings of work.
Millspaugh started on the mound for Apopka but was relieved in the second by Aeschilman. Millspaugh gave up three earned runs on four hits and two walks while striking out one.
Bartkin finished on the mound and secured the save after successfully protecting a three-run lead. She gave up two earned runs on four hits while striking out one over two innings.
The Blue Darters made two errors in the field and 21 putouts while turning one double play.
Ford and Lopez led the Blue Darters at the plate in the victory as they were responsible for four runs in Apopka’s seven-run sixth inning. Ford went 3-for-5, scoring two runs and driving in two runs. Lopez went 2-for-4, scored one run and collected two RBIs.
With the win, Apopka advances to the next round of the state tournament, where it will either face No. 10 Lake Brantley or No. 167 Sanford. The Patriots and the Seminoles faced off on Friday, May 9. The winner of that matchup will face Apopka in the Regional Semifinals.
If Lake Brantley wins, it will host the game as the one-seed. But if Seminole beats the Patriots in an upset, like they did last year, Apopka will host as the Blue Darters are higher seeded than Sanford. The game is set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13.
“We want a shot at Brantley again,” MacWithey said. “Hopefully, we can get that.”
Regardless of what happens from here, MacWithey said his team has accomplished a lot this season.
“I’m very, very proud of these kids,” he said. “Winning 22 games is more than they’ve won in the last two years combined. It’s a team effort. The chemistry is great. The hard work is great. The love and understanding are correct. We’re doing everything right, and it’s just a pleasure to be here.”
