Take the third inning of Monday night’s game against W.S. Neal as the one that highlights the power and ability of the Pace softball team from an offensive standpoint.
Fifteen batters. Eleven runs. That was the gasoline the Patriots poured onto the fire during a breakout inning in a 15-1 win over the Eagles.
The value of the preseason cannot be underestimated. Pace’s flag football team knows that as well as anyone.
And this weekend, the Patriots are headed to Tampa to play in a tournament at the Bucs’ practice facility.
Briana Dunsford returned to state as a senior two weeks ago and took a lot of pride in having the opportunity to compete at the 1A weightlifting meet one final time.
It was on a little bigger stage this time around, with the RP Funding Center in Lakeland hosting the meet.
Tristan Watson came out of the game with 56.8 seconds to go after picking up his fifth foul. He made his way to the end of the bench and crouched down on the floor.
One of his teammates came over and sat next to him, putting his hand on his back in an effort to console the senior, who was just starting to begin to face the gut-wrenching reality that this game, this special season, as well as a stellar high school career at Jay, were about to come to an end.
Lily Priddy got a little emotional talking about the end of her high school weightlifting career late Saturday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
Priddy had hoped to be crowned a 3A state champion in the 119-pound weight class at the end of a long day of competition.
When Pace last played a softball game that counted, it ended in heartbreak. The Patriots walked off the field stinging from a 1-0 extra-inning loss to Melbourne in the 6A state final four.
Most of those players are back, including Division I commits Jayden Heavener (LSU) and Shelby McKenzie (Florida State), and they are hungry.
Hallie Ueberroth mentioned one day before a practice that the defense has looked sharp, and that things would really get rolling for the Milton softball team if the offense started to click.
“Our defense has looked really good in practice, and once our offense catches up, and we get our hitting going, were going to be hard to beat,” Ueberroth said.
It took a little less than two minutes for Milton to score its first goal of the night in its lacrosse season opener against Fort Walton Beach last Wednesday night at Hurley Manning Field.
But over the next 45 or so minutes of play on a cool and windy evening, the Panthers had little trouble scoring, rolling to a 14-1 win over the Vikings.
The wait is over. The Pace Patriots are state champions in girls weightlifting for the first time in program history.
A runner-up a year ago, Pace has been on a mission since that day and saw the hours of hard work and dedication pay off with a 3A crown in the traditional competition Saturday night at the RP Funding Center in Lakeland.
A new era is underway for the Milton baseball program. Keith Little is the new head coach of the Panthers and brings a lot of experience to the table.
Not only has he coached at the high school level as an assistant, but he was the head coach at Pensacola State for six years.
