Niceville’s season ended Saturday afternoon with a loss to Winter Springs in the Class 5A state championship at Boombah Sports Complex.
- Despite being outhit just 9-7, the Lady Eagles stranded 10 runners on base in a 6-0 defeat to the Lady Bears, who claimed their second consecutive state title.
Chloe Bailey and Winter Springs’ Tiffany Seemann matched each other pitch for pitch early before Niceville carved out a golden opportunity in the opening innings. Quinn Graham and Sydney Hann each singled, and Carnley Summerlin laid down a perfectly executed bunt — identical to the play that set up Hann’s walkoff RBI double against Chiles earlier in the postseason.
Summerlin was retired on the play but advanced Graham to third. Bailey struck out, and Briana Noles drew a walk to load the bases, but Valerie Malley struck out to end the threat.
Winter Springs capitalized.
- Seemann singled, and Adison Pierce followed with an RBI double to score Seemann and give the Lady Bears a 1-0 lead.
Niceville managed just a single from Molly Mayfield in the fourth, and Winter Springs extended its lead in the fifth. Lilly Clark reached on an error by Graham, and Abigail Hooper launched a two-run home run to left field to push the advantage to 3-0.
The Lady Bears put the game away in the sixth. Pierce opened with a leadoff double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bella Reed. Clark singled, Hooper walked, and a missed pop fly on Annabelle Shackelford’s part allowed all three runners to score, stretching the lead to 6-0.
Winter Springs’ defense held firm the rest of the way to close out the title.
Looking ahead, Niceville will lose only two core contributors from this year’s roster in seniors Shackelford and Krissa Troutman. Bailey, Noles, Summerlin, Hann, Graham, Mayfield and Natalie Miller all return in 2027.
The Lady Eagles must await reclassification to learn which class they will compete in for 2027 and 2028, but regardless of where they land, they figure to be among the early state championship contenders.
With Saturday’s loss, the 2025-26 high school sports season for the area has come to a close — a successful campaign that produced five team state championships, numerous runner-up and Final Four finishes, and banner years for multiple programs.
