Two of the top softball teams in the state went head-to-head on Tuesday night at John A. Vickers Field in Trenton.
It took extra innings to determine the winner.
Sophomore Lexi Faught’s bases loaded base hit to left field scored senior Montana Moen for the winning run as Trenton rallied past Santa Fe (Alachua), 4-3, in nine innings.
“It was a battle in the circle, two really good pitchers dueling it out,” said Trenton coach Kevin Benson.
Two-time defending state champion Trenton, which is ranked No. 1 in the FHSAA Rural classification and No. 7 overall in Florida, had University of Florida commit Addison Allaire in the circle.
Santa Fe countered with the nation’s No. 1 freshman pitcher, according to Line Drive Media, Rylee “Roo” Swilley, who is teammates with Allaire during the summer.
It was textbook small school ball early by the visiting Raiders.
Following an Allaire strikeout to start the game, Santa Fe junior Madisen Crosby walked and then used her speed to go from first to third base on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore third baseman Callie Blair.
The wind was blowing in for most of the night, and freshman Corie Wheeler (2-for-3, 2 RBI) hit a soft line drive to right field which dropped for a hit and drove in Crosby for a 1-0 lead.
“She’s been a clutch hitter for us,” said Santa Fe coach Gene Findley.
Allaire (9 IP, 3R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 13K) struck out the side in order in the bottom of the second but the Raiders (13-2), who are ranked No. 2 in Class 3A and 13th in Florida, manufactured another run.
Sophomore Maren Hornsby had an infield hit to third to start the top of the third inning.
After consecutive sacrifice bunts by Crosby and Blair to move Hornsby to third base, Wheeler hit a ground ball single to right field, scoring Hornsby, for a 2-0 lead.
Trenton (12-1) answered in its half of the third with three runs on just two hits and two costly Santa Fe errors.
Moen reached on an error at shortstop and senior Presley Akins walked to put two on with zero outs. Swilley struck out sophomore leadoff hitter Addilyn Welbers but Faught (2-for-5, RBI, RS) beat out a ground ball to third for a hit to load the bases.
However, a pop up by Allaire to second base was misplayed for an error, allowing Moen to score.
“In these types of games, you’ve got to keep the errors down to a minimum,” Findley said.
Junior MacKenzie Fisher singled to left field and drove in Akins to tie the game at 2-2.
Fisher was 4-for-4 against Swilley.
“That kid is phenomenal,” Benson said. “There’s no quit in that kid. She’s constantly looking for improvements, and she loves to be coached. She loves to be pushed hard and challenged. She’s just got the heart of a Tiger. That kid is so fun to coach, always brings great energy and gives 100% in everything she does.”
The final run of the inning came on a ground out to third base by sophomore catcher Khloe Kirby, but Swilley struck out senior Madison Hinote with two runners on base.
Swilley, who went 2-for-4 at the plate with a home run, tossed 8+ innings and allowed four runs, all unearned, on seven hits with three walks and 10 strikeouts.
“Roo is a great pitcher,” Benson said. “She throws it well, she proves she’s got a big stick at the plate, and she’s just an all-around, really good softball player. Couple that with the speed and athleticism that Santa Fe has behind her, that’s a great team over there that it took us nine innings.”
Swilley crushed a foul ball down the left field line that just missed being a 2-run home run in the third inning.
Allaire struck her out to end the third inning, but the freshman got revenge with a solo home run to left field to tie the game at 3-3 in the top of the sixth inning.
That forced extra innings and the “Kansas Tiebreaker,” which puts a runner on second base to start each inning.
Santa Fe loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the eighth inning, but Allaire worked out of the jam thanks to a couple of putouts at the plate by Hinote and Fisher, followed by Allaire’s 12th strikeout of the night.
“We work every day on plays at the plate,” Benson said. “And she did a great job generating two good ground balls that we were able to get two quick outs there at the plate, and then she did the rest herself for the third out.”
One of the stranger plays in the game occurred in the bottom of the 8th inning.
With the winning run at third base, Moen popped it up between third base and the circle. Blair charged it, but it dropped just beyond her reach, and it appeared to give the Tigers the victory.
However, Blair didn’t touch the ball, and it bounced and rolled foul past the third base line. Swilley struck out Moen to end the inning.
After Allaire struck out her 13th batter of the night, Blair grounded out with two runners in scoring position in the top of the ninth inning, setting up the heroics in the final at-bat.
Akins, Welbers and Faught all had hits in the bottom of the 9th inning with nobody out.
Santa Fe will travel to Palatka on Thursday, while Trenton is at GHS at 7 p.m. The Hurricanes’ home game against the Tigers will be broadcast on Mainstreet (audio only) beginning at 6:45 p.m.
