The Okeechobee High School Lady Brahman softball team now knows who they’ll be facing in the first round of the district tournament on April 30.

Okeechobee will take on the 12-4 Martin County Lady Tigers in the district tournament, which is being played at Jensen Beach High School.

When these two teams last met back on April 11, the Lady Brahmans took an early lead and were able to ride that to a 6-3 victory over the Lady Tigers. That win kick-started what would become a four-game win streak for Okeechobee that saw the Lady Brahmans sweep two fellow Lake Okeechobee teams, Moore Haven and Glades Day.

The team recently held their senior night before their home game against the Harmony Lady Longhorns on April 25.

Okeechobee fielded a relatively young softball team this year, and that was reflected in the team having only two seniors.

OHS seniors Brooke Santiago and Alexandrea Fulford were recognized and given gift baskets by the team.

“Throughout the last four years, I have had the pleasure to call this field home,” said Santiago in the ceremony before the game. “It’s hard to believe I’m standing here today when it truly feels like just yesterday I walked in for the first day of tryouts my freshman year. You all made it hard for me to want to turn away from this game, and for that I thank you.”

The Lady Brahmans had a tough task ahead of them with Harmony pitcher Taylor Barrett on the mound that night. Barrett is a hard-throwing pitcher with a 0.69 ERA for the 2018-19 school year and more than lived up to that stat line against the Lady Brahmans. Barrett threw 15 strikeouts against Okeechobee in seven innings.

Okeechobee also had an ace of their own on the mound, previous Athlete of the Week winner Haley Underhill. Underhill pitched well, throwing nine strikeouts and allowing only two hits in seven innings. Unfortunately, one of those hits was a home run from Harmony ace Taylor Barett.

That 1-0 lead would be all that the Lady Longhorns would need to come away with the victory. Now, Okeechobee moves on to the district tournament where they’ll face Martin County, who should be favored despite dropping their last game against the Lady Brahmans.

Still, after a slow start, the Lady Brahmans have shown growth throughout the latter half of their season. Okeechobee could very well pull off an upset against Martin County and send them home early this year. Okeechobee and Martin County are scheduled to face off at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 30.