In the bottom of the eighth inning, Sydney Hann stepped to the plate with a runner on third and one out. The fate of a Final Four berth rested on her bat.
She delivered.
Hann ripped a double into the outfield, scoring courtesy runner Coley Gatwood to give Niceville a 5-4 walk-off victory over Chiles in a regional final that required an extra inning and every ounce of fight the Lady Eagles had.
“I got a barrel on that ball, I went straight through it, and I hit it right where it needed to be,” Hann said.
But to understand how Niceville found itself in that moment, you have to go back to the beginning.
Chloe Bailey set the tone early, retiring the Chiles side in order in the top of the first. The Lady Eagles’ bats followed her lead. Quinn Graham opened with a hit, and Briana Noles brought her home with an RBI double. Carnley Summerlin followed with an RBI single to score Noles, and Valerie Malley added an RBI single of her own to plate Summerlin, staking Niceville to a 3-0 lead before Chiles recorded its first at-bat.
The cushion didn’t last.
Chiles stormed back in the third inning. Mackenzie Githens led off with a single, and Anna Kate Barber drove her in with an RBI double. Lily Trumbower singled, and Mia Hemenway cleared both runners with an RBI double to knot the game at 3.
Niceville answered in its half of the inning. Bailey doubled, and Hann followed with a double of her own, scoring courtesy runner Layla Hughes to push the Lady Eagles back ahead, 4-3.
That score held through the fourth, fifth and into the sixth as both pitchers settled in. Bailey kept Chiles off the board, while Barber made life difficult for Niceville’s lineup. But the Lady Eagles finally blinked in the sixth when Bailey walked Josie Jordan, and Belle Dempsey laced an RBI double to bring her home and tie the game at 4.
- Neither side could break through in the seventh, sending the game to extras.
Chiles had a golden opportunity in the top of the eighth. Kaitlyn Fagan drew a walk, but Scout Joyner hit a fly ball that Graham fielded cleanly — and close enough to prevent any runners from advancing. Jordan went down on a foul ball after Molly Mayfield made a terrific defensive play, and Bailey finished the inning by striking out Githens.
That set the stage for the bottom of the eighth. Gatwood stood on second as the courtesy runner. Summerlin laid down a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt to move her to third — and while she was out at first, the bunt did its job.
Then came Hann.
“She got hot,” Niceville Head Coach Danny Hensley said. “When we got in that situation where we got her to third, and Carnley laid out a good bunt there, I thought it was the right person at the right time. She’s been swinging the bat well, and she delivered.”
Bailey finished the night having allowed eight hits while striking out seven — and she did it all while battling an outbreak of hives in the hours leading up to the game.
“Chloe had an awesome game,” Hensley said. “Coming off back-to-back nights, she had an outbreak of hives which broke out over her whole body. We didn’t even know if she could go. She got out there and fought with heart and energy, and she was like a gladiator.”
- “It wasn’t something anybody expected, but I thought I was good the entire game,” Bailey said. “We came out and got the win.”
Niceville now awaits Final Four reseeding to determine its semifinal opponent, though Braden River is the likely matchup.
For Hensley, the return trip to the state tournament carries a weight that goes beyond wins and losses.
“It’s just extremely exciting,” Hensley said. “It’s one of those things where no matter how many times you go, you want to go back again. I’m so proud of these kids. They’ve put so much work in. They were so close last year, and to come back and have a shot at it again — I’m so happy for them. All their work paid off.”
“It means so much, especially from last year,” Bailey said. “I feel like this year, we’re going to go down, and we’re going to compete more.”
Hann put it simply: “I’m really excited, and I’m ready to go win state right now.”
