Down five runs and down to its final six outs, the Montverde Academy softball team made a ferocious comeback in the final two innings to snatch a win from the jaws of defeats as the Eagles beat Eustis High School 7-6 at the Montverde Academy Softball Complex on Friday evening.
Down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Eagles scored one run, before exploding for five in the final inning for the dramatic walk-off win. Danika Spinogatti blasted a double to center field to drive in the final two runs completing the comeback.
The Eagles fell behind 6-1 in the top of the fifth after Eustis put up five runs to break a 1-1 tie and take control of the game. A couple of MVA errors led to several unearned runs in the frame.
MVA edged closer in the bottom of the sixth with one run. After hitting an infield single to start the inning, Luna Taboas advanced to second on a wild pitch, before stealing third base. Then a passed ball by the Eustis catcher allowed Taboas to cross home plate to make the score 6-2.
Still down 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Jenna Meder led off the inning and (after falling behind 0-2 in the count) singled to start the rally. Then Colby Reish followed suit with a single, moving Meder to second.
Then Ari Jimenez had a productive ground out, moving the runners up. Leila Susaia then blasted a double to score Meder and Reish to make the score 6-4, to bring the tying run to the plate.
Taboas then hit a single to score Susaia from second to make the score 6-5. The next batter, Elena Friedman, ripped a single to move Taboas over to third. The throw by the Eustis outfielder was sent to third, allowing Friedman to advance to second, setting the stage for Spinogatti to deliver the game winning hit, setting the MVA fans into a celebratory frenzy after the game.
"Literally I am still trying to catch my breath (from the game). It just shows how much fight we have as a team," said head coach Kahley Armstrong. "We were down quite a bit. It just shows the fight and the drive that the girls have to come back and win."
The Eagles pounded out 11 hits, and were led by Taboas who had three, plus a run batted in. Meanwhile, Spinogatti and Reish had two hits each. Susaia was 1-for-2 with three runs batted in.
"It was a big team win. I think we all put the little pieces together. We did fantastic, I couldn't be more grateful for this team and be a part of MVA," Taboas said.
La'Breah Sands earned the win in relief, going 2.2 innings and allowing no runs on one hit with four strikeouts. Nevaeh Williams started in the circle and went 4.1 innings and allowed six (five unearned) runs on six hits with three strikeouts.
Friday was MVA's final game of the 2024 regular season, and the Eagles finished it with a 21-4 overall record and a perfect 13-0 record at home. MVA will now await the FHSAA to release the bracket for the district playoffs which start on Monday, April 29. All district games will be hosted by Umatilla High School. Once the bracket is released, fans are encouraged to visit mvasports.com or Montverde Academy athletics social media pages for updates.
