Fort Walton Beach softball’s magical season rolls on.
Pitted against fellow state champs Choctaw boys weightlifting and South Walton girls golf along with a few state runners-up and Final 4 powerhouses, Taryn Gray’s crew was voted our 2024-2025 Team of the Year after winning the 4A state title last month.
Not only was it the first state title in the history of the Viking softball program, the Cinderella run also marked the program’s first region championship — and the run generated more than 10,000 votes in our poll to win in a landslide.
“They were so sick of people not having any expectations for them.” Gray said of her girls. “So, since January we’ve talked about districts, regionals and state. Win districts, check that box off. Win regionals, check that box off. Win state, check that box off. They have seen (the expectations) every day. And they locked into owning every piece. This is a special team.”
Special for many reasons.
Special because the Vikings survived two extra-inning games in the postseason, including a 5-4 district championship win over Arnold that shored up home-field advantage through regionals. An 11-1 win over Menendez set the stage for back-to-back 4-3 wins over Columbia and Arnold to punch their Final 4 ticket, and they wouldn’t waste there first shot at a state title. Down went Eau Gallie 9-4 and then came their fourth one-run victory in the championship, this time a 7-6 win over American Heritage.
Catcher Alyx Hall and Ace Izzy Douglas embraced in front of home plate. Gloves flew into the air. History was made.
In surviving four one-run games, the lineup flexed its depth with eight runs per contest. In the postseason, Hannah Isham went 12-for-26 with 11 runs, six RBIs, five stolen bases and five walks, and Anna Abernathy went 10-for-28 with 11 RBIs, 10 runs and four doubles. Anna Beyhl went 11-for-22 with seven RBIs, six runs and three free passes, and 2024 Player of the Year Alyx Hall went 8-for-22 with six RBIs, four runs, three walks and two homers. Meanwhile, Izzy Douglas helped out her own cause with nine RBIs and five runs.
Douglas was on the mound for all 48 innings of Fort Walton’s 7-0 postseason run, striking out 29 and allowing just 14 earned runs. She finished the season with a 2.91 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 168 1/3 innings.
The balanced lineup won its final nine games to finish the season 23-8 and ranked 15th in Florida. The Vikings follow four-time state champ Niceville boys track and field as the Team of the Year.
This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: FWB softball named Daily News Team of the Year for 2024-2025
Reporting by Seth Stringer, Northwest Florida Daily News / Northwest Florida Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
