The softball season came to an end for Gainesville High School on Thursday night.
In the FHSAA Class 5A-Region 2 Final, top seed Winter Springs eliminated the visiting Hurricanes, 9-3, denying GHS a second straight final four appearance. Gainesville advanced to the state championship game last year.
The host Bears (22-8) used the long ball to advance to the final four for the first time since finishing as Class 6A state runners-up in 2021.
“All credit goes to Winter Springs,” said GHS coach Chris Chronister. “They had a good team that came out hitting. It took us a while to get our offense going and it was too much to overcome.”
Alondra Maldonado (3-for-4, 2 HRs, 4 RBI, 2 runs) hit a pair of home runs and Abigail Hooper (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 runs) and Lauren Daugherty (2-for-3, HR, RBI, one run) added home runs for Winter Springs.
The Bears scored four runs in the second inning and added four more in the fourth inning.
GHS sophomore Leanna Bourdage led the Hurricanes at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI, while senior Josie Kirwan also drove in a run and finished 1-for-3.
Senior Olivia Lockerman (1-for-2) scored two of their three runs.
Senior McKenna O’Sullivan, a Santa Fe College signee, started the game in the circle and allowed five earned runs on eight hits with two walks and one strikeout in 3.2 innings of work.
Bourdage gave up three runs on three hits with no walks and six strikeouts in 2.1 innings of relief.
They each gave up two home runs.
Winter Springs pitcher Tiffany Seeman threw a complete-game six-hitter with five strikeouts.
The Bears outhit the Hurricanes, 12-6, and they built a 9-1 lead until GHS scored a pair of runs in the final inning.
“I was really proud of our team’s fight, putting together a rally in the top of the seventh,” Chronister said. “McKenna just missed a homerun (barely foul) that would have made it 9-6. This team just never gave up.”
Gainesville, which advanced to the region final on Tuesday with a 1-0 win against No. 7 seed Springstead (Spring Hill), finished the season with a record of 17-8.
“It was a great season,” Chronister said. “Finding out at the beginning of the season that your ace pitcher from the previous year would not be available took an adjustment. Starting the season 0-4 was tough, but after that, we really started to play well and got on a roll.
“We got off to a slow start, but McKenna really stepped up and took ownership of the role as our go-to pitcher,” he said. “With Leanna being able to play at the end of the season really gave the team a boost of confidence, but a couple of recent injuries to Roxy Walsh (wrist) and Madi Gillins (knee) left us a little short-handed in the playoffs.”
They lose several seniors from this year’s team, which helped the Hurricanes reach the final four in 2024.
“It’s sad to see this group of nine seniors go, especially 4-year starters and major contributors to the program’s success like Braylin Cook,” Chronister said. “So many great memories over the past four years. Just really proud of this team, winning another district championship and getting back to the regional final is something they should take great pride in.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Gainesville’s stats and quotes