The LaBelle Cowgirls varsity softball team’s stellar season continued this week with a trip to the state tournament.
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LABELLE- The LaBelle Cowgirls varsity softball team’s stellar season continued this week with a trip to the state tournament.
The Cowgirls turned a 19-6 regular season into a deep run into the playoffs, winning the district championship and regional final along the way.
Last year the Cowgirls won their district championship game over Bonita Springs 6-1, but were knocked out in the regional semifinal by the Robinson Lady Knights 5-1. This season the district playoffs played out in a similar way to last year. The Cowgirls shutout Cypress Lake 12-0 in the semifinal and defeated Bonita Springs once augain in the district championship 11-1.
But in the regional playoffs, the Cowgirls turned the corner and advanced to the state tournament for the first time since 2005.
In the regional quarterfinal LaBelle defeated the Dunedin Lady Falcons 10-0. Emorie Anderson, Brooke Black, and Carli Spencer each had two RBIs for the Cowgirls. Spencer also had a triple in the win. Next, in the regional semifinal LaBelle beat the Estero Lady Wildcats 10-2. Payton Crews led the team with four RBIs and three hits. Taylor Cochran and Marissa Burchard also had three hits and two RBIs.
In the regional final the Cowgirls faced off against the Clearwater Lady Tornadoes with a chance to advance to the state tournament on the line. LaBelle jumped out to an early lead, taking a 6-0 lead in the top of the third. The Cowgirl defense would hold Clearwater to only two runs and LaBelle won the regional final 10-2.
Emorie Anderson led the team in RBIs with three. Calia White had three hits and two stolen bases.
LaBelle High School gathered to send the Cowgirls off in style on the way to the state tournament, with students lining the hallways to show support as the team left LaBelle on May 21. The next day the Cowgirls faced the Eustis Lady Panthers in the state semifinal. The Lady Panthers took an early 1-0 lead, but the Cowgirls tied things up 1-1 in dramatic fashion in the top of the seventh inning.
In the bottom of seventh inning, though, the Lady Panthers scored another run to secure a walkoff 2-1 victory.
The Cowgirls finish the season with a 24-6 record following their playoff run.
