By Kyle Coppola
Eustis High Softball Win FHSAA Class 4A State Championship
Eustis High School softball capped off an incredible season with one final performance that will be remembered for years to come. Eustis High beat Baker County 1-0 to claim the FHSAA Class 4A State Championship!
Eustis High ends the season with a 26-2 record. As was the case for the past few games, this was a pitcher’s duel. On the mound one final time for Eustis was Skyler Cloud. She pitched an amazing game, giving up only 2 hits in 7 innings pitched. She struck out 4 batters as well. Cloud’s performance kept Eustis right in the game, as Chloe Woods also had a fantastic performance for Baker County.
(The moment of victory! Kendall Kemp would drive in Kaylen Bublitz who slide into home to win the State Championship for Eustis!)
The game was tied 0-0 headed into the final inning. Eustis would get 3 outs in the top of the 7th, setting Eustis up. Jensen Luke was able to get on base. Luke did what she was asked to do all season long, and it paid off at the right time. She got on base. Then head coach Brittany Beall decided to send in Kaylen Bublitz, one of the fastest runners on Eustis, to pinch run for Luke.
(The Eustis Softball team are your 2024 FHSAA Class 4A State Champions!)
That brought up Kendall Kemp, who hit a dinger and drove home Kaylen Bublitz to win the State Championship 1-0. The grandstands were packed with Eustis Blue and Gold last night. The atmosphere was electric. There were tears of happiness and a huge relief knowing they had done it!
For the seniors, this was a heck of a way to go out! The seniors won the State Championship four years ago, and now they get to claim that they are two-time state champions. What a thrill!
(Skyler Cloud hugs head coach Brittany Beall. Cloud was incredible on the pitchers mound all season long and pitched a shutout win for the State Championship!)
For head coach Brittany Beall and her entire team, this is an enormous accomplishment. From the fans, players, faculty, and Lake County who showed up and supported this team this year, thank you for everything! What a run this was, and it will be remembered for a long time to come.
Also getting hits last night were Adrianna Covino and Brooke Powhida. We can’t forget the work Katie Short put in to get the team in this position when she hit a walkoff single on Wednesday to win the state semifinal game. Every girl on the team had an impact. Here is the team list below of now state champions:
#1 Skyler Scott #2 Skyler Cloud #3 Adrianna Covino #4 Chloe Zimmerman #5 Taylor Goff #6 Emmy Luke #7 Ciara Maple #8 Katie Short #9 Brooklyn Powhida #10 Dalilah Taylor #11 Carson Roden #12 Brooke Mansfield #13 Kailey Walker #14 Kendall Kemp #15 Kaylen Bublitz #16 Mackenzie Tackett #17 Lillie Smith #18 Jensen Luke #19 Brooklynn Mason #20 Gabby Hiles #33 Taryne Thomas”
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.
