The Niceville Lady Eagles’ quest to return to the state title game is alive and well.
Niceville defeated Gulf Breeze 6-3 on Wednesday night in a Region 1-5A semifinal rematch of the district championship, advancing to Thursday’s Elite Eight round on their home field.
“I’m excited about it. We’ve got to turn around tomorrow night to punch our ticket to the Final Four, but we’re excited,” Niceville Head Coach Danny Hensley said. “If we come out here and play our game tomorrow night on our field, we should be in great shape.”
The Lady Eagles wasted no time getting on the board. Quinn Graham opened with a single, and Gulf Breeze pitcher Jessica Jagar walked Briana Noles before Chloe Bailey ripped a two-run double to score both runners. Sydney Hann followed with a single, and Layla Hughes — a courtesy runner for Bailey — scored on a wild pitch from Jagar to make it 3-0.
But a rough third inning brought Gulf Breeze storming back. Bailey walked Taylor Keown, hit Sally Alberson with a pitch, and Ashlynn Stemcosky reached on an error by Niceville second baseman Natalie Miller. Aubrey Sparkowski, a courtesy runner for Keown, scored in the process to put Gulf Breeze on the board. Jagar then hit a sacrifice fly to score Alberson, and Stemcosky stole home to tie the game at 3.
- Niceville stopped the bleeding — and responded with power.
Hann launched a solo home run in the bottom of the third to put the Lady Eagles back in front. “I was super happy. I was trying to make contact — I felt it. I got a lot of barrel on that ball,” Hann said.
After Valerie Malley singled, Annabelle Shackelford delivered a home run of her own to push the lead to 6-3.
“I really wanted to be a game changer in this game. I was really hoping I hit the ball far enough,” Shackelford said.
- “It’s coming all from up and down the lineup,” Hensley added. “We’re getting contributions all the way down the lineup, and I like that.”
The score held from there, though Gulf Breeze’s Ava Gruber managed a leadoff single in the fourth — the first hit anyone had managed off Bailey in two weeks. Bailey remained dominant throughout, allowing just two hits while striking out 16.
With Fort Walton Beach’s loss Wednesday afternoon and Crestview’s loss Tuesday night, the Lady Eagles are the last local team standing in softball and one of only three area teams still alive across spring sports, alongside South Walton baseball and Choctaw flag football.
Niceville will host Chiles on Thursday night in the Elite Eight. Chiles defeated Middleburg 3-2 on Wednesday night.
“They got a good ball club. They’re the No. 2 ranked team in our region, so it’ll be a dogfight,” Hensley said. “But if we come out here and play our game, we’ve got a good chance to win it.”
“We played them last year, so we’re going to do the same thing we did last year — get after it quickly,” Shackelford added.
“As long as we keep the same energy, we’ll be fine,” Hann said.
