The Hernando Hotshots, a local 18u travel softball team, placed fourth in their bracket in the USFA (United States Fastpitch Association) World Series. The team out of Anderson Snow Park made the nearly five-and-a-half-hour trek to Panama City Beach to compete in a bracket of 26 different teams. The tournament saw 385 teams from 23 different states across all divisions take part from July 14 through July 20. Coach Kenneth Mayon, who leads the team, discussed the competition on Tuesday.
“You never know going into a tournament where you stand because we know how we compete against local teams and teams around Central Florida, but you don’t know what you’re going to face when you play Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, and all these teams,” said Coach Mayon. “We competed even in the games we lost; we were there. We had the ability to win. We just didn’t make the plays.”
Coach Mayon’s crew played 11 games in just under five days and finished 8-3 en route to their fourth-place finish. It was a challenging tournament, as the team had to play three games on Thursday alone; the Spring Hill-based squad went 3-0 that day. Then, the Hotshots had to do it all over again the next day.
The second game on Friday was a nail-biter. After the matchup went into extra innings, it resulted in what is called a Texas tiebreaker. Also known as the international tiebreaker rule, this involves the batting team having a base runner starting on second base while the team’s last available player in the batter’s box is up to bat.
Two key moments allowed Mayon and company to ultimately seal their victory: one by the offense and the other by the defense. The first was a grand slam by Makayla Lama earlier in game two. The players would then step up and provide the clinching play when the team needed it most. Pitcher Madison Mayon threw the ball over to 1B Belle Lozano before the first baseman zipped the ball home to Gianna Villari. From there, Villari zinged it to 3B McKenna McGrantham to retire yet another runner.
“They never quit,” stated Coach Mayon. “They found different ways to win games with bunts, stealing bases […] [Makayla’s] like the team leader. She plays hurt. She plays hard. She never has a negative thing to say about anybody. First one to pick a girl up. First one to congratulate on a great play. Just everything you could want in a team captain.”
Coach Ken’s team has been together for roughly a year and a half and nearly all of the players on the team attend one of the in-county high schools. They have two players that are set to attend colleges in the fall with a total of four girls about to graduate. The softball team also features players as young as 15 years old among its ranks, and their 15-year-old pitcher was throwing strikes against 18-year-old hitters over the weekend. The future looks bright for the Hotshots.
Below is the Hotshots roster:
(#12) G. Villari – C
(#88) M. Lawrence – CF
(#21) M. Lama – SS
(#22) M. McGrantham – 3B
(#3) A. Wash – P
(#25) M. Nester – 2B
(#6) M. Wiemer – LF
(#27) M. Mayon – 1B
(#30) B. Mallek-Lozano – RF
(#77) P. Lett – EH
(#44) A. Pereria – EH
Additional Players: (#55) H. Boutwell
