With the regular season winding down and playoff seeding on the line, Crestview softball delivered when it mattered most, defeating South Walton 5-1 on Monday night at Crestview.
- The Lady Bulldogs needed the win to keep hopes alive of hosting a home playoff game, while the Lady Seahawks saw their slim No. 1 seed hopes come to an end.
In what could be the final home game for Crestview’s seniors, Cambell Toolan shut down South Walton’s lineup from the circle.
“It was just a great game. It took us a while to get the bats going, but pitching kept us in it, and when the bats got hot, we opened up,” Crestview Head Coach John Toolan said.
Crestview set the tone from the opening pitch. After allowing only a first-inning hit to Reese VanderBaan, Toolan got the Lady Bulldogs on the board in the bottom of the frame. Following a Riley Copeland double, Toolan doubled to score Copeland for a 1-0 lead.
- The score held for several innings as Toolan and South Walton’s McKenzie Reiter made quick work of opposing batters.
Crestview broke the game open in the fourth. Toolan drew a walk, Anna Parker reached on an error and MacKenzie Toth walked to load the bases. Taeia Schriner then doubled, scoring Abby Secor (running as a courtesy runner for Toolan), Parker and Toth to make it 4-0.
“Taeia’s an unbelievable hitter. We’ve been talking with her. She’s been putting a ton of pressure on herself, and she got in there tonight, she relaxed, and came in clutch,” John Toolan said. “She’s a great kid, she’s also a senior. I’m proud for her.”
Schriner said she gave herself a pep talk before the game.
“Just be who I am,” Schriner said. “It felt really good to come through for the team tonight.”
Trinity Rosalez followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Schriner to extend the lead to 5-0.
Crestview threatened again when Copeland and Toolan singled and Parker walked, but South Walton worked out of the jam. The Lady Seahawks managed only a Tatum Kreinus single in the top of the sixth before Crestview went down in order in the bottom half.
The seventh inning brought emotion for the senior class. Toolan gave up singles to Kallie Keyes, Reiter and an RBI single to Kendall Borthwick that scored Keyes, but she recorded the final two outs to close out the 18th win, the most in program history.
- “I got a little emotional so it kind of drug out, but it was our last home game so I kind of expected to get a little emotional,” Toolan said.
A year ago, Crestview finished 6-18. The Lady Bulldogs have flipped that record to 18-6.
“It’s still sinking in. Last year, our record was 6-18, and we just told the girls we flipped our record,” John Toolan said. “But we had to go through that last year. We lost seven of our games by one run against very good quality teams, but I did that intentionally to get them ready for this year, and so with that said, we’ve finally turned the corner.”
Cambell Toolan echoed her coach.
“Last year we were 6-18, this year we’re 18-6, so we’re excited about that,” she said.
- “We’ve come together a lot this year, and that’s really reflected in our record this year, and we have confidence knowing we can do it,” Schriner added.
Crestview (18-6) travels to Gulf Breeze on Wednesday for the season finale. The Lady Bulldogs run-ruled Gulf Breeze 10-0 in their previous meeting on March 4.
South Walton (14-5) travels to Niceville on Wednesday for its season finale.
