A special season for the Crestview Lady Bulldogs came to an end Tuesday night, as the Pace Lady Patriots pulled away early and held on for a 9-3 victory in the Sweet 16 round of the state playoffs.
A rough second inning proved to be the difference.
Pace struck first when Kylie Reed singled and Britten Keller doubled to set the table. Madison McGowan then delivered a two-run single to make it 2-0. McGowan later scored on an RBI fielder’s choice from Laila Loomis, and Kamryn Pierce followed with a three-run home run to blow the game open at 6-0. Keller added an RBI single to push the lead to 7-0 before the inning was over.
Crestview showed fight in the fourth.
With two outs, Cambell Toolan ripped a double to spark a rally, and Pace pitcher Hannah DeMarcus walked Anna Parker. MacKenzie Toth singled, and Taeia Schriner drove a two-out, RBI double that scored Anna Balk (the courtesy runner for Toolan), Parker and Toth to cut the deficit to 7-3.
Those would be the only runs the Lady Bulldogs managed. Pace added an insurance run in the fifth when McGowan’s fielder’s choice scored Reed, then tacked on another in the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Reed that scored Gracie Ueberroth. Crestview went down in order in the seventh to close out the 9-3 final.
The Lady Patriots, who have not missed the Elite 8 since 2019 — outside of the 2020 state playoffs being canceled due to COVID-19 — now await the winner of the Tocoi Creek-Navarre game and will host the Elite 8 matchup Thursday.
For Crestview, the loss brings the curtain down on the best season in program history.
The Lady Bulldogs will say goodbye to four key contributors in Toolan, Schriner, Toth and Tianna Hill, all of whom played their final games in a Crestview uniform. Parker, Ava Secor, Riley Copeland and Makenzie Muse headline the group of returners set to carry the program forward in 2027.
