May 8, 2025
Eustis High Softball Edges Mount Dora 2-1 to Advance to Regional Semifinals
By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Softball Edges Mount Dora 2-1 to Advance to Regional Semifinals
EUSTIS, Fla. — The Eustis High Lady Panthers punched their ticket to the FHSAA Class 3A Regional Semifinals on Wednesday night with a gritty 2-1 victory over Mount Dora High in a tightly contested playoff opener.
Jordyn Kelley scored the decisive run for Eustis, breaking a 1-1 deadlock and propelling the Panthers into the next round. The win marks a milestone for head coach Tyra Bowers, who earned her first career playoff victory at the helm. It’s also the program’s first postseason win without longtime coach Brittany Beall in over a decade.
Mount Dora gave Eustis all it could handle, led by an exceptional performance from pitcher Kaleigh Casey, who delivered one of the finest outings of her career. Despite her efforts, the Hurricanes came up just short in a nail-biter that had fans on the edge of their seats.
Eustis will look to carry the momentum into the regional semifinal as they continue their postseason run. They will play South Sumter High School at home on May 13th at 7pm. That should be a great one!
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.
