By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Softball Advance To FHSAA State Championship Game
It was a hot and muggy Florida May afternoon, but Eustis ground out a 2-1 win to advance to the FHSAA Class 4A State Championship game on Thursday night in Clermont at 7 pm.
The Lady Panthers got the scoring started in the 3rd inning when Delilah Taylor, who was pinch-running for Skyler Cloud, stole 3rd base. The ball got past the LaBelle 3rd baseman, and Delilah Taylor took advantage and scored to make it 1-0.
(Skyler Cloud pitched one of her best games of the sesason.)
The game would stay that way until the top of the 7th inning. Both pitchers did an incredible job on the mound. Skyler Cloud pitched perhaps one of her most impressive games of the year, holding LaBelle to only 1 hit through 6 innings. However, in the top of the 7th with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd base, LaBelle would hit a single to tie the game in a clutch moment.
The score was 1-1 headed into the bottom of the 7th inning. You could tell the Eustis faithful were nervous. But in the dugout, Eustis never showed a moment of disappointment. They went back out and would win the game. Lillie Smith hit a sacrifice fly to move Kaylen Bublitz to 2nd base. That’s when Katie Short came to bat. When you saw her step to the plate, you could instantly see she was going to be aggressive. Short would hit a single to the outfield. That drove in Kaylen Bublitz, who was mauled by her teammates after crossing the plate.
(Eustis High Principal Tracy Clark was very excited about game! He was very proud of his school and the Eustis faithful who represented Lake County well.)
Bublitz has been one of the best baserunners all season for Eustis. The crowd cheered, and the Eustis faithful were so happy their team is headed back to the State Championship with yet another chance to win. For the freshmen, it is familiar territory as many girls were on the 2021 Eustis State Championship-winning team. Now they have one last chance to go for glory again.
For Eustis, tomorrow, win or lose, will be the final time this team will play together. It has been an absolute joy following along with their progress. Tomorrow night will be filled with emotion as much of today was. I loved seeing the support of the town. I saw so many people today, and they all treated me like family. I can’t tell you how proud I am that this team represents Lake County.
(This team will play 1 final game together on Thursday evening. The seniors are hoping to do what they accomplished 4 years ago and win another State Championship!)
So please root on the Eustis Lady Panthers as they go for glory on Thursday night at 7 pm down in Clermont at PFX Athletics. We hope to see you come out and support!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
