By Kyle LoJacono
The Freedom softball team fought through the emotions of senior night to defeat Class 7A-District 9 rival Steinbrenner 3-0 April 5.
Pitcher Katlin Hall, a Wharton transfer, was among the four seniors who participated in the pregame ceremony.
“This game was very emotional,” Katlin said. “I pitched, maybe not my best game, but it’s definitely one I’ll remember.”
Caroline Whiteside, a four-year player at Freedom (14-2, 7-1), said her emotions were in a similar place.
“Tons of butterflies in my stomach,” Whiteside said. “You want to do well on senior night because you only get one. It was a bit nerve racking, but my team was there for me, and we pulled through. It was definitely a team win tonight.”
Whiteside said playing the Warriors (10-9, 3-6) helped snap the squad back to reality because it was Steinbrenner that knocked the Patriots out of playoff contention last year.
“That’s always there because we beat them twice last year and then lost to them in districts,” Whiteside said. “We know anything is possible, so we need to keep our heads on straight no matter what the score was last game. They’re a good team.”
Freedom got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first when senior shortstop Caitlin Harper smacked a triple to drive in freshman catcher Maddy Hall, who led off the contest with an infield single.
Senior third baseman Savanna Chavez drove in a run with a single in the fourth, and Whiteside rounded out the scoring with an RBI bunt in the fifth.
The Warriors threatened in the fifth thanks to a walk and two outfield errors to put runners on third and second with one out.
Katlin got Tabitha Alcott to pop up to Whiteside for the second out and forced Erica Serafini to hit a weak grounder to her second baseman to end the threat.
“Katlin is a competitor,” said Patriots coach Autum Hernandez. “She’s going to fight no matter what. The higher the stacks get, the harder she fights. I wasn’t concerned with her pitching. I knew she’d buckle down even though her arm was a little sore today, and she was still able to lock in.”
Katlin, who threw five innings of two-hit ball, said she used her defense to get out of the jam.
“As a pitcher I want to strike the next batter out, but I trust my defense, so I threw one over the plate and got the ground ball to get an out,” Katlin said.
The victory put Freedom into a tie for the top district seed with Chamberlain, but the Patriots lost the tie-breaking coin flip on April 8.
Freedom hosts the 7A-9 tournament, where the Patriots will play Steinbrenner in the semifinals April 17 at 7 p.m. The winner clinches a playoff berth and a spot in the district championship game April 18 at 7 p.m.
Freedom plays at Hillsborough April 9 before closing the regular season at Plant April 11. Steinbrenner travels to Sickles April 9 and hosts Tampa Bay Tech April 11. Games start at 7 p.m.
—Follow Kyle LoJacono on Twitter: @Kyle_Laker
