SEBASTIAN – The Bayside High softball team turned the tides on Sebastian River.
The Bears scored three runs in the eighth inning and hung on for a 4-2 win over the Sharks in the Class 5A-District 13 final Thursday evening at Sebastian River High.
Bayside had lost to the Sharks, 6-2, in last year’s district championship game. The Bears also dropped a 3-2 decision in eight innings in the season opener for both teams this season.
“We had chances,” Sebastian River coach Tom Carow said.
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Sharks have little production early
The Sharks had runners on base in four of the first five innings, but failed to produce a run.
In the first inning, leadoff hitter Payge Hunter was hit with a pitch and was sacrificed to second by Rily Biggers.
“I put us in a bad spot off the bat, bunting with our 2 hitter, who’s probably our strongest hitter,” Carow said.
In the second and third innings, both Sharks runners were caught stealing.
“I ran them out of some innings,” Carow said.
The top-seeded Sharks (15-6) stranded two runners in the fifth inning before getting on the board.
Biggers, a senior who carries a team-high .431 batting average, belted a 1-1 pitch over the left field fence to tie the game at 1-all with one out in the sixth inning. It was Biggers’ second home run of the season.
Unable to take advantage of a one-out error in the seventh inning, Sebastian River went to extra innings, just as it did in the first meeting.
On Feb. 17, the Sharks pulled out a 3-2 victory over Bayside.
Carow said his team has grown up “a lot” since facing the Bears in the regular season.
“It is a young team that is going through stuff,” the third-year coach said.
The Sharks had to battle through a couple of injuries to key players: Layla McKinney and Ashlyn Gutermuth.
McKinney was the team’s top hitter as season ago, batting .529. Through 15 games this season, she had a .417 average. Gutermuth, a .307 hitter as a freshman, is in the lineup, but limited to playing first base.
“We had to move them around and bring two more freshmen in,” Carow said.
Bayside jumps on top in the eighth inning
Third-seeded Bayside (14-9) went to work in the eighth. With the ghost runner on second, leadoff hitter Emily Lowe walked. Both were sacrificed into scoring position by Leah Acker.
Bella Tenta, who accounted for the Bears’ run in regulation with a booming home run to left-center field, plated two more with a single.
“I could have put the girl on who had the hit and put up some runs on us,” Carow said.
Hannah Dollar produced the fourth run for the Bears with a fielder’s choice.
Sebastian River wasted no time in the bottom of the eighth. On second base to start the inning, Angelina Nicholich went to third on a wild pitch. Darling hit an infield single to produce Nicholich and make it 4-2. Leadoff hitter Paige Hunter then singled to put the tying runs on base.
Both runners tagged and moved into scoring position on Biggers’ fly to left field. However, after one of many conferences by the three-person umpiring crew, Darling was called out at third base for the second out.
A walk to Gabby Espich put the tying runs on base again for Sebastian River. But Lowe, who was the losing pitcher for Bayside in the first meeting this year, got a pop out to end the game.
“That loss is on me,” Carow said. “That game is completely on me. There’s a lot of things I called that probably could have went differently, and I took that away from them.”
Espich battles in the circle for Sharks
Although she fell behind hitters early in the count, Espich battled in the circle.
One of three seniors on Sebastian River, the right-hander allowed six hits and four runs (three earned). Espich walked three and struck out four.
“She was able to come back from it,” Carow said. “She’s been good for us all year, and she’s been able to work back from those tough spots. And our defense was able to bail us out.”
If there was one bright spot for the Sharks, it was their defense, which sparkled.
Biggers made back-to-back gems at third base in the fifth inning. Junior left fielder Alexa Pittman made a diving catch in the third inning.
“We played really good defense,” Carow said.
Sebastian River’s season should go on
Despite the loss, Sebastian River’s season is likely to continue.
Ranked second behind Pembroke Pines Charter in 5A-Region 4 in the most-recent Florida High School Athletic Association rankings, the Sharks should receive an at-large bid into the regional tournament.
“I do like our chances,” Carow said.
Despite having a seven-game winning streak snapped, Carow thinks his team could make noise in the regionals.
“The team has a lot of grit and we’re young,” he said. “It is a young team that is going through stuff. The program wasn’t very stable before, but they’re coming together as a team and being able to push through stuff.”
Carow pointed out his team’s 7-3 record in games decided by two runs or less.
“We do well in those games,” he said. “We just weren’t able to pull through here.”
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: District softball: Sebastian River denied repeat titles in extras
Reporting by Dennis Maffezzoli, Special to Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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