By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Softball To Play LaBelle In FHSAA Class 4A Semifinal
The Eustis Lady Panthers will play LaBelle in the Class 4A State Semifinal Softball game on Wednesday at 11 a.m. The Lady Panthers come into the contest 24-2 on the season. They will face their toughest challenge of the year, as LaBelle enters the season 24-6.
Both teams are coming off big wins in the Regional Championship, with Eustis having won 6-2 against Eau Gallie to earn the opportunity. Big performances by Brook Powhida and Emery Luke were a huge reason for the 6-2 win, along with a strong performance from Skyler Cloud on the mound.
Brook Powhida had a double in the Regional Final game, bringing home 2 runs. Emery Luke also had a double and 2 RBIs on the night.
Both of these players have contributed heavily to Eustis all year long. Now, coming down the final stretch, Eustis finds themselves in the state semifinals, just 2 wins away from winning the State Championship once again.
(Eustis head coach Brittany Beall has developed an incredible softball program. Eustis is regarded as one of the top programs in the state of Florida.)
Ciara Maple, Jensen Luke, Taylor Goff, and others are playing the best softball we have seen all year long. While Eustis has Skyler Cloud on the mound, who has been terrific all year long, LaBelle utilizes two pitchers. They have similar statistics. Abby Hicks is a junior, while Payton Crews is a sophomore. Hicks has a 1.82 ERA while Crews has a 2.92 ERA.
We expect Hicks to get the start, but Crews is also very reliable, so if LaBelle gets in trouble early, they have no issue pivoting to Crews.
Eustis has plenty of batting power to keep up with LaBelle; however, LaBelle comes in with one of the most powerful batters in the state. Senior Marissa Burchard has a .488 average. She has 16 doubles this season along with 29 RBIs and 41 hits. Meanwhile, LaBelle also has Emorie Anderson, who leads class 4A with 40 RBIs on the year.
LaBelle will present a ton of challenges, but Eustis will be ready. This team, led by Brittany Beall, has been dominant all season long. The team has peaked at the right time, and the girls are playing as a combined unit. This is one of the best Eustis Softball teams of the 2020s. Now, can they win and make it to the state championship?
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.
