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Branford pitcher Laila Arnold (left) races toward shortstop Cloey Criggall to celebrate their Region 3-1A semifinal win over Fort White on Thursday night. (MORGAN MCMULLEN/Lake City Reporter)
FORT WHITE — A week ago, Branford head coach Oscar Saavedra gathered his team on the diamond. He talked to them for nearly an hour after losing the district championship game to Fort White on the Buccaneers’ home field.
Fast forward a week, and Saavedra’s postgame speech rang much shorter. And happier.
The No. 1 seed Bucs knocked off District 6-1A champion Fort White in a 3-0 pitcher’s duel, earning the right to host next Tuesday’s Region 3-1A final against No. 3 Aucilla Christian — a 5-4 winner over Hilliard — with a trip to the state semifinals on the line.
For Saavedra, the mental block for Branford (23-4) that has been Fort White (10-10) the past two seasons seems to have been cleared.
“At the end of the day, you never want to lose, but I think it was a good loss,” Saavedra said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times, much less four.”
A lot of the credit for Branford’s success Thursday night goes to pitcher Laila Arnold. After being knocked out of last season’s district final by the Indians, Arnold was a machine for the Bucs, allowing just a pair of hits and four walks while striking out nine in her complete-game shutout.
Arnold said she let her guard down a bit in the district championship. Not so much Thursday night.
“This game, I came in with — I wouldn’t say anger, but with fight,” she said. “I really wanted to prove myself, and I really wanted to show it and help my team.”
Along with Arnold’s dominance in the circle, the Buccaneers’ defense stepped up big time to secure the win. After committing five errors in last week’s district finals loss, Branford fielders didn’t make a single one, with left fielder Alex Whitfield and shortstop Cloey Criggall making spectacular plays with their gloves to keep the Indians’ offense at bay.
“You eliminate the errors, and it’s a whole different freaking ballgame,” Saavedra said of his team’s defensive effort. “We’re proud of the girls. They worked hard.”
The game started slow with both pitchers showing off their dominance. Fort White ace Kadence Compton got out of a first-inning jam after giving up a walk and a single thanks to a good effort by third baseman Hannah LeBleu on a two-out bunt attempt. Compton then struck out three of four batters in the second.
But the Bucs broke through in the third. Following a leadoff triple from Criggall, catcher Morgan Brennan knocked a sacrifice fly to left field to drive her in for the first run of the game.
After another three innings of pitching clinics, the Bucs struck again, this time to the tune of five consecutive singles to start the sixth inning. Brennan and centerfielder Ellie Frierson each hit infield singles before another infield single from Whitfield nearly scored Brennan, who was tagged out at the plate. However, right fielder Ashlee Combee and first baseman MaKayla Williams hit another pair of singles for the only other runs of the game.
For Fort White, the offense just wasn’t there after scoring seven runs the week prior against Branford. Right fielder Gracie Clemons secured the only two hits off Arnold with a double in the second and a single in the seventh. That last hit caused a bit of drama after it was followed by a LeBleu walk. However, with the tying run at the plate, Arnold induced a popup to shortstop to secure the win before racing for the dugout to celebrate.
“We didn’t hit the ball,” Fort White head coach Michele Padgett said. “That’s the name of the game… We kind of feel like we beat ourselves.”
For Saavedra, it’s a bit of revenge and vindication all rolled into one.
“They worked hard,” he said of his team. “We put in some good time this past week, we’ve worked hard, and it’s made them believe. You’ve gotta start believing, no matter what happens.”