Braden River softball team defies logic in earning a trip to state tournament
The best word to describe the Braden River softball team is daring.
Consider:
The head coach defies logic with a lineup that has two of her best hitters batting in the last two spots.
Catcher Kylie Toler will wing the ball to second without any fear in any circumstance to pick off a runner, which she has successfully done 13 times.
Despite being one of the team's smallest players, Myah Moy believes she can hit the ball deep at any time and often does (she has four home runs and 5 triples).
And that pitching staff?
It does not come with the glamor of Gainesville High lefty Katie Chronister, a University of Florida signee, who will pitch against Braden River in the Class 7A State Softball Semifinal at 1:30 p.m. Friday at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach.
Chronister and Gainesville are 26-2 and her Hurricanes are 50-4 over the past two years. The lefty has fanned 255 batters in 172.1 innings and has a
0.57 ERA.
Braden River (23-2) might be the hardest team to figure. It wins by outscoring opponents and rarely plays the small ball that is so popular among softball teams that try to bunt and slap their way to victory.
Braden River seems to be saying: Try and outscore us if you can. The Pirates are averaging 10.3 runs per game.
No one throws caution to the wind more than Toler, who picks off runners like she is swatting flies. She thinks nothing of throwing down to second to get a runner, even if there is a runner on third in a tie game. What? Me worry? is her mantra.
"You get the runner out and it will change the momentum of the game," Toler said. "I trust myself and I trust my teammates to back me up. I know how big a play it can be if I get the runner. It puts the momentum back on our side."
Braden River shortstop Linda Ross bats ninth despite her .493 batting average. In the region tournament she was 7 for 9 with a homer, double, five RBIs and six runs scored. The senior has been a rock on defense and her daring baserunning rattles defenses.
Braden River head coach Melissa Dowling gave Ross a virtual green light on the basepaths during the postseason and she has been running wild, turning singles into doubles and doubles into triples, and sometimes going from second to home on an infield base hit.
"I am just seeing the ball really well lately and being aggressive," Ross said. "Batting ninth might help a little in the beginning of the game because you get to hear what the other batters have seen."
The Pirates come into the game with 20 homers, led by Sarah Crawford's seven.
"I am really glad that my offense has come together because I've only been known as a power hitter and this year I feel like I am a good clutch hitter with pretty high RBIs (32)," she said.
The junior centerfielder recently lost her grandmother Mee Mee, a popular Braden River fan, which has raised the stakes for her in this tournament.
"It is very personal for me right now. She meant a lot to me," Crawford said.
Bethaney Keen has been the Pirates' starting first baseman for four straight years. She said the growth of the team played an instrumental role in its success this season.
"We got to the point that no matter what happens, we got each other's backs, and we didn't fall short when adversity happened," said the USF-bound senior. "It's all about working together and keeping our mind on one goal, and that's what we did differently this year."
Yawn bats eighth in the lineup and is hitting .435. She is 11-2 with a 2.36 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 83 innings. She has pitched extremely well in the postseason after making some changes in her delivery.
When Dowling played her senior season in 2005 she put the Lakewood Ranch softball program on the map with pitching that produced an undefeated regular season, but which ended in a district tournament loss. Braden River's only previous appearance in the Final Four was in 2011 with pitching phenom Courtney Mirabella.
"It's always been a goal of mine to be a head coach and take a team to the state tournament. To do it in my first year, I couldn't write a better script," Dowling said. "We are soaking it all in and trying to make the most of it because you never know when it's going to come back around again. It couldn't happen to a better bunch of girls."
Alan Dell, Herald sports columnist/writer, can be reached at 941-745-7056. Follow him on Twitter @ADellSports
This story was originally published May 5, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Braden River softball team defies logic in earning a trip to state tournament ."