- November 28, 2024
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If both teams win their first-round games, Seabreeze and Deltona will play again in the second round of regionals.
BY MATT MENCARINI | SPORTS EDITOR
The Seabreeze softball team stood in a circle, quietly listening to coach Tarisa Grimm, as two Deltona players ran into the Lady Sandcrabs’ dugout to grab another water cooler.
Deltona was celebrating a district championship, a 3-0 win April 19, and had already doused one coach with water, but they needed more.
Seabreeze (17-6) and Deltona (16-6) entered the fourth inning in a scoreless tie, but back-to-back hits and a mental error gave the Wolves a a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Sandcrabs had a runner in scoring position in the second inning, thanks to a leadoff double, but a double play squandered an opportunity to score first. Another mental error on the base paths in the fourth inning again resulted in a double play with a runner in scoring position.
“It definitely played (a factor),” Grimm said of the mental errors. “It took the momentum away. Not taking anything out (of Deltona’s win), we brought up some of our JV players that have speed, and we threw them in there, and they’re learning.”
Deltona tacked on a run in the sixth inning, effectively putting the game out of reach for a Seabreeze team that had managed just two hits and five baserunners to that point.
“My defense played a solid game,” Grimm said. “Deltona is a great-hitting team, (so) to hold them to three runs (is positive)."
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, shortstop Casey Travers helped keep Deltona's runs down by diving, fully extended, to catch a line drive and end the inning.
“The girls, they kind of got down, but they didn’t give up,” Grimm said. “(We) started hitting in the last inning, it was just that we started hitting too late.”
The loss means Seabreeze has to go on the road in the first round of the regional tournament to play Palm Bay 7 p.m. April 25, a team with eight wins and 15 losses.
“We went on the road last year and played alright,” Grimm said. “It’s nice to have a home game but ... if we play our game, we should pull away with a win.”
The rest of her coaching staff was just as confident. And if they win in the first round of regionals, and so does Deltona, Seabreeze will get another shot at the team that stole their water cooler.
“We’re coming back here to play Deltona,” Grimm said. “We got them.”
