HardisonInk.comLady Indians win in final inning 6-5;Girls are Regional Champs again

Chiefland Lady Indian Emily Hallman (#14) slides into home base to score as catcher Trenton Lady Tiger Bryn Thomas (standing) is on the brink of tagging her in the bottom of the third inning on Tuesday night. Hallman plays catcher for the Chiefland High School team. In the top of the second inning, Hallman tagged Lady Indian Hallie Bryant (#2) out at home base. As CHS Head Softball Coach Wayne Weatherford said after the game, every girl contributed to create the win that night. Photo by Dave Eicher © April 27, 2016 @ 7:47 a.m.

Story, Other Photos and Video By Jeff M. Hardison © April 27, 2016 @ 1:37 a.m.Updated April 27, 2016 @ 7:47 a.m. All Rights Reserved – Do Not Copy Any of This Elsewhere     CHIEFLAND -- It was an amazing softball game Tuesday night (April 26), the likes of which are seldom seen because it was that incredible.     In the last half of the final inning, the Chiefland Lady Indians home team came from a one-point deficit to win by a point, and that was after the visiting Trenton Tigers opened the game with a four-player grand slam with no outs from those first four batters.     This score from this game means the Chiefland Lady Indians will face the Region 2 champion, either Santa Rosa Beach South Walton or Eastpoint Franklin

HardisonInk.comCounty, in the Class 1A state semifinals on Wednesday, May 5 (at either 1:05 or 2:20 p.m.) at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach. The Lady Indians are the Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A State Softball Champions from 2014 and 2015.

The CHS Lady Indian Softball Team enters the field and heads to their dugout before the start of the game.

     Both CHS Head Softball Coach Wayne Weatherford and THS Head Softball Coach Todd Bryant commented immediately after the Tuesday night game.     "Never give up," Weatherford said. "They've done it all season. I don't think they ever waited this long before. They know what to do when they have to."     Coach Bryant said his team did its best, especially Darian Ingram (#6), a seventh grader who pitched the entire game.     "She gave us every opportunity in the world to win tonight," he said. "She pitched her heart out. She did everything she could to help us win this game. Hats off to Chiefland. They're a good team. I think tonight we showed that we are at least in the top five or six in the state of Florida.     "A ball here, or a ball there," Bryant said, making reference to some of the calls, "the obstruction call we should have got at home; you know that's another run. Anything could have happened tonight and the game could've been blown out. We had two balls we hit very deep. One could have been a two-run hit. It didn't happen, but we played great."     The Trenton coach said he is very proud of the players on the Trenton High School Varsity Softball Team.     "They showed a lot of class," Bryant continued. "They worked really hard this year. We improved the entire year. We kept getting better. We kept getting better. So when we get started next year, because I did not have a senior who started tonight, we will start back where we finished off. So, we are going to be pretty good for a few years to come."     The assistant coaches for the Lady Tigers are Scott Guthrie, Clint Anderson, Cecille Gomez and Reilee Moore.     The Lady Tigers were very sad after the game. They had given it their all. They rode the tide of winning up until the very end, and that winning stream that was pulled away from them gave them each enough agony of defeat to a point where they showed visible signs of being hurt emotionally.     The coach told them, however, that each and every one of them could hold their heads high and be proud of how they played.~

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The Trenton High School Lady Tigers Varsity Softball Team includes Hallie Bryant (#2) an eighth grader who plays second base; Josie NesSmith (#16) a 10th grader who plays center field; Bryn Thomas (#4) a ninth grader who plays catcher; Kyndall Williams (#12) an 11th grader who plays shortstop; Reagan Couch (#8) a ninth grader who plays as a designated player; Ashley Biddle (#9) an 11th grader who plays first base; Lillie Wilkerson (#1) a seventh grader who plays third base; Jaycee Thomas (#11) an 11th grader who plays left field; Grace Guthrie (#10) a 10th grader who plays right field; Darian Ingram (#6) a seventh grader who was the pitcher for the whole game; and substitutes Madyson Feather (#3) a 12th grader; Kayla Costello (#5) a 12th grader; Ginger Deen (#7) a 12th grader; Christiana Norfleet (#14) a ninth grader; and Zakyah Frazier (#32) a ninth grader. Head Coach Todd Bryant is joined by assistant coaches Scott Guthrie, Clint Anderson, and (not pictured) Cecille Gomez and Reilee Moore.~

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The Chiefland High School Lady Indians Varsity Softball Team includes Sydney Parks (#11) at second base; Emily Hallman (#14) as catcher; Takiya London (#4) as shortstop; Lauren Parker (#3) at center field; Morgan Anderson (#2) at first base; Samantha Rolfe (#9) at left field; Erika Gilliam (#33) at third base; Hannah Gore (#5) at right field; Lauren Stalvey (#7) as starting pitcher; Kensley Durrance (#20) as relief pitcher; and available substitutes Tataneisha Barnes (#12); Aleaha Rhoomes (#1); Taylor Simpson (#19); Maci Thomas (#15); Simone White (#22); and Karlie Meeks (#10).

     Meanwhile on another part of the field, the Lady Indians were full of the ecstacy of victory. They never surrendered.     The Lady Tigers started with Hallie Bryant (#2), an eighth grader, being walked by starting Lady Indian pitcher Lauren Stalvey (#7). Bryant played second base on defense.     The next Lady Tiger batter was 10th grader Josie NesSmith (#16). The single by this center fielder was followed by a single by ninth grade catcher Bryn Thomas (#16).      With the bases loaded by Bryant on third, NesSmith on second and Thomas on first, it was 11th grader Kyndall Williams (#12) who smacked that softball out of the park to bring in three runners and herself in the grand slam.~

This six-second video shows the Lady Tigers after the fourth runner arrived at home base following the grand slam.~     Williams hit a triple in the fourth inning as well to add a point by bringing in

HardisonInk.comBryant again. That made the score 5-2 at the bottom of the fourth.     Lady Indian Lauren Parker (#3) hit a double to bring in Emily Hallman (#14) in the third inning, and Sydney Parks (#11) brought in Erika Gilliam in the fourth inning.     Coach Weatherford switched pitchers in the fourth inning as he brought in Kensley Durrance (#20). The Tigers were unable to score in the final three innings.     The push in offense in the final part of the game happened with the Lady Indians being down 5-4. They had to score two runs to win, or they would not be the regional champions who were going to Vero Beach again.     There were two strikes and three balls on Parker as the first batter from the Lady Indians. She did not swing at the next ball, and that let her walk to first.     Morgan Anderson (#2) was the next Lady Indian up. Earlier in the game, she had been walked but was left on base. She had RBI'd Parker and Takiya London (#4) in the bottom of the fifth inning. The heat was on, and then Anderson singled, sending Parker safely to second.     Samantha Rolfe (#9) was next up. She was walked, which moved Anderson’s substitute runner – Aleeha Roomes (#1) to second and Parker to third.     With no outs, the bases loaded and down by two points, Erika Gilliam (#33) was up to bat. The two sets of fans had both been relatively loud all night, but at this point the crowd went wild. The air reverberated with sound.     After the first two pitches, it was one strike and one ball for Gilliam. She smacked that softball and it was Parker running across home base and then Rhoomes running across the last plate as the final runner to break the tie and win the game for the Lady Indians.