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Forcing Friday: Softball Walks-Off to Win Wild Game 2 over Seminole
April 21, 2022

Forcing Friday: Softball Walks-Off to Win Wild Game 2 over Seminole

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Exactly one week after their previous doubleheader in Gainesville, Santa Fe Softball met once again with Seminole State College for postseason play in the Mid-Florida Conference Tournament, and the spectators were treated to a thrilling rollercoaster ride in a doubleheader split.

With both team's seasons on the line, Seminole State claimed Game 1 by a 5-3 score, before the Saints outlasted the Raiders 14-13 in a wild affair, dubbed by Nevada Cullen of the Saints Sports Network as "probably the craziest game in Santa Fe Softball history."

GAME 1  - SEMINOLE 5, SF 3

The Saints started the opener off well in the first frame. Darian Ingram had a 1-2-3 inning from the circle, before Story Giebeig opened the scoring with a two-out moon shot to left-center field to hand SF a 2-0 lead after their first at-bats.

Seminole State tied it, however, at 2-2 with a pair of runs in the second, then claimed a 3-2 lead with a solo home run in the fourth.

The lead grew to 5-2 in the sixth, and although Keeli Zingaro belted a solo home run in the sixth, the Saints stranded runners on the corners with one out in the seventh inning to find their backs up against the wall headed into Game 2.

Key Statistics

SF had seven hits offensively, four of which went for extra bases. Giebeig went 2-of-3 with a double, the homer, and two RBI. Morgan Lebeda had a double, and Zingaro's long ball represented the other RBI.

Ingram (12-8) suffered the loss from the circle, throwing six innings. Her final line included seven hits, five earned runs, one walk, and three strikeouts. Calen Hayes tossed a scoreless seventh.

GAME 2  - SF 14, SEMINOLE 13

The storyline of the day came from Game 2, as the Saints aimed to force play into Friday while the Seminoles were seeking to secure their berth in the FCSAA State Tournament.

The two teams exploded offensively in a game that featured numerous swings of momentum and a final score that looked more fitting of a football game.

After the first two innings went scoreless for each side, Seminole put up a snowman in the top of the third frame, bringing across a whopping eight runs. The wheels appeared to be falling off a bit for the Saints, and without any run production, the Saints were facing a disappointing, run-rule conclusion to the season.

Starter Sophie Abrams was chased, and she handed the ball off to Calen Hayes, but a Saints' error brought the Raider's eighth run across before Hayes induced a flyout.

The Saints' bats came to life with a swift response, turning the tide in just one-half inning.

SF batted around as the Raiders had before them, and drew to within a single run, 8-7. The seven runs in the frame came on three walks, six hits, and a two-run, full-count home run from Lebeda on an amazing at-bat that accounted for the final two scores in the inning.

After Hayes had a smooth fourth inning to post a zero, Jayelyn Carter led off with a bunt single, then scored on a Riley Schnyder triple to make it all square at 8-8 in the blink of an eye. Schnyder then accounted for the go-ahead run on a pitch that got away, and SF claimed a 10-8 lead when Abrianna Hickox scored Giebeig with an RBI single.

The Saints weren't done in that frame, however, as the momentum was palpable. Lebeda struck again with yet another two-run jack, skyrocketing a pitch over the left field wall to lift the Saints to a 12-8 advantage.

Still leading 12-8 in the top of the sixth, Hayes and the defense escaped a bases loaded, one-out jam. Hayes earned the second out with a basket catch near home plate on a pop-out, then snared a comebacker to calmly throw over to Zingaro at first base to get out of trouble.

The Saints made it a "baker's dozen" with 13 unanswered runs, tacking on some insurance with an RBI walk from Olivia Larkin to go ahead 13-8.

The run proved to be much-needed, as Seminole State used their final at-bats to stun the Saints and put up five runs to tie it.

After the first three hitters in the top of the seventh singled, Abrams re-entered for Hayes. A single made it 13-10, and the next batter she faced took an 0-2 pitch over the wall in left center field to plate the three-runs needed to improbably tie it up at 13-13.

An unassisted out from Giebeig at third base kept the score even and turned the tables over to the Saints' bats in hopes of walking it off, and that is exactly what came to pass.

With the 2-3-4 hitters in stow, it didn't take long for Schnyder to provide the heroics, smacking her second home run of the year, barreling up to a 1-1 pitch for a laser to dead center field to start the pandemonium and "Force Friday."

Key Statistics

The Saints' 32 wins surpassed the win total from the 2021 season.

SF's 14 runs was just one off their season-high production of 15, and the 27 combined runs was the highest-scoring affair dating back to at least the 2013 season, with archives still in progress.

Each team had 15 hits in the contest.

The game lasted over three hours, and concluded as the clock approached 8:00 p.m. The third inning alone lasted nearly an hour, with 15 runs and 12 hits combined between the two teams.

Everyone contributed to a remarkable win for the Saints. Carter, Lebeda, and Schnyder all had three-hit games. In addition to her walk-off home run, the left fielder Schnyder was just a single shy of going for the cycle, adding a double and a triple to drive in four runs. Each of her two home runs this season have proved to be game-winners, including her three-run shot against Lake-Sumter in a 3-0 victory on Mar. 22.

Lebeda's two home-run game accounted for four RBI, while Hickox drove in two as well.

Abrams (13-7) was the winner from the circle, while Hayes did extremely well to help SF get back into it with 3.1 innings pitched in relief.

Up Next

Santa Fe (32-18) and Seminole State (39-23) will play the decisive Game 3 of the Mid-Florida Conference Tournament on Friday, Apr. 22 at 3:00 p.m. in Gainesville. The winner will advance to the FCSAA/NJCAA Region VIII State Tournament from May 6 – May 9 in Longwood, Fla., while the loser's 2022 season will come to a conclusion in Gainesville.

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