American Heritage softball team's state title hopes fall one run short
The Patriots just need to take one more step up the ladder.
American Heritage's bid for its first softball state championship since 2018 came up a run short on Friday after getting nipped by a tough Fort Walton Beach squad, 7-6, in the FHSAA Class 4A state title game.
Last year, American Heritage reached the state semifinals after a five-year hiatus but was turned back before reaching the title game with a young team.
'So every year we've made it one game further,' American Heritage coach Samantha Banister said. 'I told the team, 'Remember what this (loss) tastes like because it won't happen again.' We are returning everyone except for two seniors. It's a lot to be excited about.
'We were up against a lot of challenges early on this year. We had our ace and our three-hitter leave before the season started. I didn't know how the girls were going to respond.'
American Heritage took a 1-0 first inning lead but Fort Walton Beach scored three runs in the second, two in the fourth and two more in the sixth to hold off the Patriots.
Bella Brenton, Bria Villano, Ari Reynolds, Mia West and Kylie Diaz delivered RBIs for the Patriots, which also scored twice in third and added two runs in the fifth.
American Heritage started eighth-grade pitcher Lyric Rodriguez in the title game. She went six innings, giving up seven runs – five earned – on 11 hits and two walks. She struck out none.
'I couldn't be more proud of Lyric Rodriguez for coming in and how she did as an eighth-grader,' Banister said. 'She did it without any hiccup. She has been flawless all year. She is 13-2 and she has been our horse all year. She is 13-years old and I couldn't ask for more. She has been our dog every game that we needed to win.'
Rodriguez said her changeup and riseball were working well but at the end of the day, she was just trying to keep the ball inside on the hitters.
'Of course we feel pressure but I was just trying to suck it up and get through it and be there for my team,' Rodriguez said. 'I think next year we are going to come back bigger and better. Going forward, I think we just need to remember this moment and know what we need to fix.'
It was the first time Fort Walton ever reached the state tournament and head coach Taryn Quinn said they had nothing but respect for American Heritage.
'This team is tough. We're tough and the team we played was tough but we've been passing bats now for a while and it was nice to see the kids coming through and trusting the process,' she said.
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