LONGWOOD — As a power hitting first baseman for Lake Wales, sophomore Mattie Cockrell has had many big hits for the Highlanders but her biggest at-bat came playing small ball.
Cockrell successfully put down a bunt to sacrifice that scored courtesy runner Bailey True from first base after an error to cap Lake Wales’ comeback from an early four-run deficit. The Highlanders came away with a 6-5 victory over Key West on Thursday afternoon in the semifinals of the 2026 FHSAA Class 4A Softball Championships at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park.
Lake Wales (25-6) will play Lake City Columbia in the championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday. Lake Wales will be looking for its fourth state title and its second under Mike Settle in his final year as head coach.
“I’m very excited, and I’m very confident,” senior Keira Davis said. “After how we played today, we know that we need to pick it up a little bit and be on our A game for the championship. We’re all excited and ready.”
With the scored tied 5-5 going into the seventh inning, McBurrows retired Key West in order. In the bottom half, catcher Kyra Williams led off with a single then gave way to True. Cockrell put down a perfect bunt and might have beaten out the throw. However, the throw went to second and sailed into center field, allowing True to come around and score the winning run.
“They never asked me to bunt in my life,” Cockrell said. “He (Settle) came up to me and he was like, ‘I need to get this bunt down. I was like, I’m going to do it. So once I got it down, it was run, run , run.”
The jubilant ending was a far cry from the start. Lake Wales pitcher Zamirya McBurrows struggled with her control in the first inning. She walked three batters, hit a batter and there was a Lake Wales error. The result was a 2-0 Key West lead.
Key West stretched its lead to 4-0 after adding a run in the fourth an one in the fifth. Meanwhile, Lake Wales’ bats were unable to get anything going. McBurrows battled through the game and allowed just five hits with six walks and nine strikeouts. Only one run was earned.
“We know Key West is a great team,” Cockrell said. “We are excited to play them, but we always have very much confidence in Pooh. We know she can get it done. She really got it together, and we’re super proud of her.”
Davis had doubled with one out in the third but was left stranded.
Lake Wales finally lit the scoreboard with three runs in the third with all runs coming with two outs. With two runners on, Kailey McRay’s two-out double drove in the first run. Williams followed with a two-run double to make it 4-3.
Key West added a run in the sixth, but Lake Wales stayed hot. Kami Velazquez singled home a run, and Davis beat out an infield single to drive in the tying run.
“Coach (Kevin Knuth) there in the last three innings that we did at the plate,” Settle said. “We made some adjustments from stuff he was seeing, and that’s when we started seeing the ball and weren’t popping up. It was a great job by Kevin.”
3A: Coral Springs takes advantage of McKeel’s mistakes for big win
Errors in the first inning and walks in the third inning were too much for McKeel to overcome as Coral Spring defeated the Wildcats 14-0 in five innings on Thursday in the semifinals of the 2026 FHSAA Class 3A State Softball Tournament.
McKeel ends the season 17-6 after reaching the state tournament for the first time since 2009. The Wildcats are dominated by underclassmen, leaving head coach Jimmy Applewhite exicted about the 2027 season.
“I’m super proud of these young ladies,” McKeel coach Jimmy Applewhite said. “They fought. Even today, they fought.”
In the first inning, Coral Springs got a runner on first on an error with one out, and Gio Gurgel followed with a two-run homer. An error and a walk put two more runners on before Briella Martinelli came through with a two-out double.
In the third inning, McKeel pitchers walked the first four batters, which opened the door for a seven-run inning.
“At the end of the day, it should have been 1-0 with a single home run after the first,” Applewhite said. “We should have been out of that. Then it should have been 2-0 in the fourth, but you can’t play that way here. You have to play right. If you don’t, it will show itself.”
McKeel managed just three hits.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: State softball: Lake Wales rallied to reach 4A final; McKeel out in 3A
Reporting by Roy Fuoco, Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
