American Heritage-Plantation shocked at state championship

VERO BEACH — The chances were there. The runs, however, were not.

The American Heritage-Plantation softball team could get runners on base, but could not get them to score. Glen St. Mary Baker County was having the same problem until the top of the seventh. With one out, a Brandie Callaway RBI-single proved to be the difference in sending Heritage to a 1-0 loss in the Class 5A state championship game in Vero Beach.

Ranked No. 10 in the nation by MaxPreps, Heritage (25-2-1) ends the season reaching the state title game for the third time in four years.

“We just didn’t come through with the base hit or a ball in play to push the run across and they did,” said Heritage coach Marty pionship game. Through five innings, there were a number of threats but none were fulfilled.

Baker provided an indication of what kind of game it could be in the first. Goodrich struck out the third batter of the frame but a wild pitch allowed the batter to reach first.

Then an error gave the Wildcats two runners on with two outs. Goodrich escaped the inning by using her changeup on a 2-2 count.

The Wildcats found a way to get at least one runner on base and at times, two

Heritage had two prime chances in the fourth and fifth. Both Goodrich and Maya Rodriguez reached on consecutive singles with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Wildcats pitcher Macy Jackson escaped the inning as she subdued the rally by forcing a fly out and a ground out. Cooper. “Kid hit the ball up the middle and drove in a run. Thought we had a play at the plate and we didn’t.”

Baker County’s (23-4) route to the state title started when Heritage pitcher Jenna Goodrich accidentally beaned the Wildcats’ Tori Richardson to lead off the seventh. A wild pitch to Callaway allowed Richardson to reach second base.

On the next pitch, Callaway placed a single between second and short that just went past Richardson’s right foot as she was running the bases. Richardson sped past third base and scored for a 1-0 lead.

“I thought that we always had a chance,” Goodrich said. “We came back last year and I believe in these girls with all my heart. Today was not our day.”

Heritage captured the state title last season after it trailed by eight runs to beat Belleview 11-10 in the cham--