At the bottom of the tenth inning against Winter Springs, the varsity softball team was down by two with two outs, but runners stood on first and second. This time, the storybook ending did not happen, and on Thursday, March 26, the team lost 8-6 in the district finals at Christy Tibbits-Bryce Field.

The game was back and forth all night, and seven innings were not enough, as the teams played three extra innings to decide a playoff win.

At the bottom of the third inning, freshman Taylor Krapf scored a run to give the team a 1-0 entering the fourth inning. At the top of the fourth inning, Winter Springs senior Emily Zientek hit an RBI to tie the score at 1-1. During the fifth inning, junior Taylor Waters stepped up to bat again, and hit a double to give the team a 4-2 lead after five innings.

“The team played well, especially considering playing 10 innings,” Waters said.

Hagerty held the lead into what was supposed to be the final inning, but Winter Springs had three hits and two runs to tie the score. The home team was unable to score in the seventh inning, forcing extra innings. Starting pitcher Ashley Worrell was still in the game, and neither pitcher allowed a run as the eighth inning was scoreless. Two walks from Winter Springs loaded the bases for Hagerty with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but the team could not score.

Coach David Stone knew that some opportunities slipped away. “Although I am proud of our team after they battled in a back-and-forth affair, there were definitely things that we can improve on,” Stone said.

In the tenth inning, another Zientek hit gave Winter Springs a 6-4 lead, and with two outs, they scored two more runs, extending the lead to four.

Down four, Krapf hit a home run to cut the lead to 2, 8-6. Worrell stepped up to bat for the fifth time in the game and got a hit to put runners on first and second, but with two outs, the team could not capitalize.

As the runner up, the team still advances to the playoffs, and if they beat St. Cloud in an away game on Wednesday, they will most likely face Winter Springs in the regional semifinals, for the fourth time this season.

“Our team played well, but we could have won the game in the end,” Worrell said.

The team recorded six runs and 12 hits, but committed five errors. They also gave up eight runs and 12 hits. Worrell will start against St. Cloud, and expects at least two wins in a row.

“Next time we will bring a better defense and better batting. Game four is ours,” Worrell said.