By Kyle LoJacono
Freedom senior pitcher/first baseman Katlin Hall had difficulty describing how much winning in the 11-year program’s first trip to the regional semifinals meant to her.
The Wharton transfer hit a two-run homer in the first inning and picked up the save to help the Patriots (20-3) beat the defending Class 7A state champion Chamberlain (21-8) May 2. The victory comes just weeks after Freedom earned its first playoff berth.
“There are no words to describe the feelings of the happiness I have,” said Hall, who is also playing in her first postseason. “I never would have thought I’d be a part of something like this.”
The contest started April 30, but two rain delays forced portions to be played May 1 and 2.
“I’ve been in games that went over 10 innings, but not three days,” said senior second baseman Caroline Whiteside.
Freedom never trailed in the semifinals despite the weather, magnitude of the game and the pressure of playing the defending state champs.
“They’re 13 kids who want to win every day,” said Patriots coach Autum Hernandez. “We talked today before we got in the vans to come here about staying focused, and the same focus we had two days ago was what we needed today.”
Freedom got on the board in the top of the first inning thanks to Hall’s two-strike, two-out homer with Whiteside on second. Hall said she was targeting a specific pitch from Chiefs senior pitcher Rachel Dwyer, a University of Virginia signee.
“I was looking inside even though I know she likes to go outside,” Hall said. “She came inside on the first pitch, and I fouled it off, but then she came back inside.”
Patriots pitcher Grace Street worked around a leadoff single from Zalonzia Canady to get out of the first inning.
Freedom added to its lead in the second inning by drawing four walks from Dwyer. The decisive blow was dealt when Whiteside drew a two-out, bases-loaded walk to score Kayla Maczuga to go up 3-0.
“I was just looking for my pitch to hit,” said Whiteside, a Hillsborough Community College signee. “It was a 3-1 count, and that’s definitely a hitter’s count. Rachel had walked two people in a row right before me. I wasn’t going to swing at just anything, and luckily it worked out that it scored that run.”
Whiteside said her hands were shaking as she stepped to the plate.
“Thought about it being the regional semifinals against Chamberlain and this could be my last high school game,” Whiteside said. “It was nerve racking, but it was a once in a lifetime thing, and we all wanted to take advantage of it.”
Chamberlain responded with two runs in the third inning. Hernandez brought in Hall in relief, who threw four and a third scoreless innings.
Freedom center fielder Rachel Carlson added an insurance run with an RBI double in the top of the sixth to score Elon University commit Ashley Wilson from second to take a 4-2 lead.
“That was a big run,” Hernandez said. “We’ve talked to Rachel about being aggressive and having a quicker bat. Rachel is a triple threat. She can bunt for a base hit, she can slap and she has power when she uses it. That was a huge inning for us, and it was again the bottom of our lineup coming through for us.”
Hall faced a major jam in the sixth inning when the Chiefs loaded the bases with two walks and a single, but the senior forced Canady to ground out to shortstop Caitlin Harper to end the threat.
Hall pitched a perfect seventh by inducing three ground-ball outs.
“In the beginning of the year we focused on offense, but lately it’s been our defense that has been carrying us,” Hernandez said. “That’s a great feeling to know when our bats aren’t carrying us our defense can pull us through.”
The Patriots and Chiefs split their season series 2-2, with neither team winning a home game. The Class 7A-District 9 rivals each scored 13 total runs in those four contests.
“Chamberlain is a great team,” Whiteside said. “I wouldn’t say that they’re better than us, and I wouldn’t say that we’re better than them. They were all close games.”
Chamberlain won the district title 4-2 by defeating Freedom April 18. The loss was more difficult for the Patriots because it was played on their home field, but all agreed they would rather have the regional semifinals win.
“They can have the district championship,” Hall said. “Winning districts would have been huge, but I’d rather have this win than that win.”
Freedom won its regional finals game at Sarasota 5-1 May 4 to earn a spot in the final four. Whiteside hit a two-strike, two-out grand slam, the first home run of her high school career, to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh inning.
The Patriots play Tallahassee Chiles May 8 in the 7A semifinals. The state championship game is May 9. Both games start at 7 p.m. and are at the Vero Beach Sports Village.
