TAMPA — Miscues and misfortune contributed to a 12-run hole Academy of the Holy Names could not climb out of in a 16-10 loss to Mulberry in the Class 4A region semifinals Tuesday night.
“We tried to chip away at the stone,” AHN coach Don Barron said. “Just couldn’t come all the way back.”
The Panthers (15-8) batted around twice in the first two innings, scoring 12 runs. Three of the Jaguars’ five errors came during that stretch. AHN shortstop and cleanup hitter Sydney Coleman injured her knee in the top of the second and did not return.
“The girl who replaced her probably had something like three at-bats all year and then she’s put into the four hole,” Barron said.
The biggest error of the night came in the top of the first. With the bases loaded and two outs, AHN’s first baseman dropped a throw from short to allow a run to score and keep the inning alive. Mulberry (13-15) went on to score five more in the inning.
“That dropped ball at first base for what would have been the third out cost us,” Barron said. “
Despite being down by a dozen, the Jaguars fought back. They scored five in the second and four in the sixth to make it 14-10. But Mulberry tacked on a pair in the top of the seventh and AHN went 1-2-3 in the bottom of the inning to end it.
Janelle Enriquez had a pair of hits and three run for the Jaguars. Teammates Katie Hale and Victoria Valdes had two doubles apiece with four and two RBIs, respectively.