Sailors win in slugfest

Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning trailing by two runs, Sarasota High softball coach Amy Nye turned to each of her players in the dugout and got the same reaction from all of them: “We’ve got this.” 

Sarasota is used to pressure situations. It’s what the players focus on every day in practice. 

So when it came time for the Lady Sailors to step up in the Class 7A-District 10 championship versus Braden River April 16, the players were more than happy to deliver. 

After a fly out to start the inning, Lexi Johns drew a walk, Avery Miller hit an infield single, and Halie Roberson walked to load the bases. Alyssa Price hit a grounder to Braden River first baseman Bethaney Keen, who tried to get the force out at home, but the throw was wide. 

In front of a raucous home crowd, SarahBeth Wengerd, who hit a solo home run earlier in the game, stepped into the batter’s box and sliced a single to left center field, scoring Miller and Roberson to win the game 14-13. 

The Lady Sailors, who took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, rallied back three times, scoring 11 runs in the final three innings. 

“They were ready to walk up to the plate and do their job,” Nye says. “That’s what we do. That’s why we work on this every day. It was just an unbelievable game, and that just shows the hard work our kids put in day in and day out.” 

Sarasota and Braden River combined for 27 runs on 34 hits with 22 runs coming in the last three innings. Miller finished with four hits and scored four runs. Roberson added three hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Wengerd had a home run, a single, two walks, three RBIs and scored three runs. Megan Custode finished with two hits and four RBIs. 

“We knew it was going to be a game like that with (Braden River),” Nye says. “That’s just the way it is with us. We just fight, fight, fight. We expected that, and our kids played well on both sides of the ball.” 

As the district champion, Sarasota will host Seminole in the Class 7A-Region 3 quarterfinals April 23. The winner will advance to the regional semifinals April 28 to face the winner of the other quarterfinal between Braden River and Clearwater Countryside. 

“We knew it was going to be a game like that with (Braden River). That’s just the way it is with us. We just fight, fight, fight. We expected that, and our kids played well on both sides of the ball.”

– Amy Nye, Sarasota High Softball coach