Braden River softball falls to Fort Myers in region final
Fort Myers High School shortstop Maria Angelino’s struggles at the plate this season have been well-documented. However, the sophomore maintains a confident approach with a little help from a classic baseball movie that preceded her by more than a decade.
Channeling her inner Crash Davis, played by Kevin Costner in “Bull Durham,” Angelino forgets about her struggles and utters the phrase “I’ve got you, meat,” when she steps into the box.
“I just think to myself, ‘I own this pitcher,’ and it’s my pitch, not hers,” Angelino said.
In the biggest game of her life, she was right.
Angelino slugged a solo homer over the wall in right-center field in the second inning. Fort Myers scored two more runs off errors and junior Hannah Perkins gave up one run and struck out 10 to send the Green Wave to the state semifinals for the first time in school history with a 3-1 victory against Braden River on Friday in the Region 7A-3 final.
With the victory, Fort Myers got even for last year, when Braden River ended the Green Wave’s season with a 6-1 regional victory in Bradenton.
“I’ve never felt this feeling before,” Angelino said. “I knew we were capable of this since the first day of practice. We just got it together. There’s just so many things we have in common. The way we play together, it’s honestly amazing.”
Fort Myers (28-2) will face Eagle Lake Lake Region in a 7A semifinal at 2:50 p.m. on May 19 at Historic Dodgertown in Vero Beach.
“It’s pure joy. Not for myself or for the coaches but for the kids,” Fort Myers coach Johnny Manetta said. “They just poured their heart into this season. They enjoyed being together. They did not want it to end. They were going to do whatever it took to stay together for another week.”
Manetta’s top-ranked club jumped on the scoreboard in the first after Avery Perkins and Vivian Ponn hit back-to-back singles with one out. Braden River tried to turn a double play on a Riley Ludlam groundball, but it was thrown over the first baseman’s head, plating a run.
Angelino had two strikes on her in the second and fouled off a few Ali Yawn pitches. Then she took an outside pitch the other way to make it 2-0.
“It’s one of the best feelings in the world going around the bases and jumping on the plate having everybody hit your helmet,” Angelino said. “It’s something you just can’t buy.”
Fort Myers picked up another run in the fourth following two Braden River errors. Meanwhile, Hannah Perkins, who struggled against the Pirates in last season’s regional final, rolled through the first four frames, including the fourth when she struck out the side.
Hannah Perkins surrendered six runs in the final two frames last season as the Wave’s season ended with a 6-1 loss. It got a bit rocky in the fifth when Braden River loaded the bases with two outs, but Hannah Perkins struck out Kali Reis to end the threat.
With her team down to their final two outs, Pirates catcher Sarah Crawford blasted a homer to center and Brooke Farrow singled to bring the tying run to the plate with one out. But Hannah Perkins caught Ali Yawn looking and induced a Myah Moy groundout to shortstop that incited a huge celebration and a sea of green congregating at third base.
The junior has given up just two runs in 32 postseason innings this season.
“The best is still to come for her,” Manetta said.
This story was originally published May 12, 2017 at 11:35 PM with the headline "Braden River softball falls to Fort Myers in region final."