SEBRING, March 17, 2009 – With critical injuries to key players, one might have thought the varsity Sebring Lady Blue Streaks were down for the count. Monday night’s victories proved the fires still burn brightly.
The varsity Lady Streaks took command in the first inning and never let go, earning a 7-2 win over a tough district oppoent, the DeSoto Lady Bulldogs.
DeSoto came to town with a 5-1 district record, their only loss a close one to district leader Braden River. What they found was a team ready to fight.
Senior Lady Streak Kayla Clemens pitched a brilliant game, firing 12 strikeouts with a variety of pitches that muzzled the Bulldog attack until the last inning, when it squeaked out two runs.
Clemens also went 2 for 4 at the plate and got on base every at bat. She scored once and would have scored a second, but Head Coach Joe Sinness pinch ran Jamie Faircloth for her in the 6th, and Faircloth scored Sebring’s final run as she made her varsity debut.
Catcher Wendy Negrin had another outstanding evening, going 3 for 4 and driving in three runs while keeping most Lady Bulldog runners throttled all evening. She has become the mistress of the hit down the third baseline, rockets that drop into left field just inside fair territory. But Negrin also ripped one over second base and into center field, which allowed Fairlcoth to score.
Mostly though, it was the team effort, led by the captaincies of Negrin and Karrie Dudek. With starters Sami Lower, Nikki Helms, and Amanda Grimaldo apparently all out for the season – devastating losses, and freshman starter Haley Pack sidelined with foot problems, the Lady Streaks went to the well and found heart.
Jamie Hershkowitz, Hannah Shoop, Dino Lower, Pookie Adams, and Camille White contributed with their bats. White laid down a beautiful second-inning bunt that created confusion among the Bulldogs and allowed Shoop to score Sebring’s first run.
And their gloves were nearly golden, with – unofficially – only two errors on the night.
The solidarity comes at just the right time: the Lake Wales Lady Highlanders visit town Thursday night. They bring Hannah Rogers, one of the state’s most highly regarded pitchers, and a team that won the 4A state softball championship in 2007 and that was a regional semifinalist last year, upended only by the eventual state champion, Naples, 4-2.
The Junior Varsity game was high drama, a four-inning thriller that Sebring led after the 1st until the end of the top of the 4th, when the JV Lady Bulldogs took an 8-7 lead.
After the first Lady Streak batter struck out in the bottom of the 4th, Brittany Lockhart took base on a walk. She promptly stole second.
Lauren Welborn came to the plate and ripped a double to score Lockhart and knot the game at 8. Meri Littlefield got caught at first on a fielder’s choice, but Welborn advanced to third. On a wild pitch, Welborn motored home in high gear and won the game!
It was a choice ending, but all the players contributed with their bats and gloves, with perhaps special notice to Michelle Bash, for her fielding and leadership, and Laura Tenneson, who belted a first-inning triple that scored two runs.
Like their varsity brethren, the JV Lady Streaks have a tall order against the JV Lady Highlanders, but they are looking more and more like they are up to the task!
GETTING TO THE POINT: Emma Collingwood (Monica Potter) and surgeon-husband John cook up retaliation in Last House on the Left, which plays at the Fairmount.
