Ashlyn Storms has struggled at the plate in recent weeks for the Winter Springs softball team.
The junior pitcher broke out of her slump at an opportune time to help the Bears (22-7) advance to the FHSAA Class 6A state championship game.
Storms helped herself by knocking in the winning run on a two-out triple to right field in the top of the seventh inning Friday morning during a 2-0 state semifinal win vs. Viera (17-7).
“I was just really looking for that outside pitch, and she gave it to me,” said Storms, who was also the winning pitcher. “We’ve worked hard all season long and I’m excited to go to the championship game [with my teammates].”
Winter Springs, which is ranked No. 2 in 6A by MaxPreps, will play No. 1 Doral Academy (28-2) of Miami-Dade County for the state title on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont. Doral won its Friday semifinal 5-2 against No. 5 New Port Richey Mitchell (22-7).
Storms was superb in the circle vs. Viera. She allowed just three hits while striking out nine batters. The Vipers, ranked No. 8, put a runner on base in the bottom half of the seventh but Storms closed the door with a strikeout and groundout to the second baseman.
Winter Springs racked up seven hits but stranded 11 runners, including three in the fifth inning when Viera intentionally walked two batters to load the bases with only one out.
Lindsay Corazzini finished 2-for-4 and Amber Daugherty went 2-for-3 in the win. Daugherty drove home Storms on a single in the next at-bat to give the Bears their two-run lead.
“This team is a group of fighters, and this game was an example of that,” Winter Springs coach Farrah Gordon said. “We got a lot of base runners but we just couldn’t get that hit, but it finally happened for us, and it’s been like that all year.”
Winter Springs returns to an FHSAA final after finishing 31-0 and claiming a state championship in 2019. The Bears were 8-1 last spring before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This article originally appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email J.C. Carnahan at jcarnahan@orlandosentinel.com.
