Bartow comes up short, falls to Durant in softball semis

BARTOW – As Bartow’s regional semifinal softball game went on, it was evident that it was probably going to come down to a play or two.

And that’s what happened.

Durant scored two runs in the sixth on a misplayed bouncer to second and that was enough to give the Cougars a 2-1 win over Bartow in the Class 6A, Region 2 semifinals.

The loss ends Bartow’s season with a 25-4 record. Durant, 18-2, advances to the regional final Friday night at home against Viera.

For the Yellow Jackets, who were ranked No. 4 overall in Florida by MaxPreps, it was a night of missed chances on offense and a couple of misplayed balls on defense.

“We had our chances,” Bartow coach Glenn Rutenbar said. “There’s nobody to blame but ourselves. We had a couple of misplays, too many free passes.”

The winning rally in the sixth, with the score tied, 0-0, started with a pop-up that hit in the infield allowing Riley Trice to reach base. Yellow Jacket freshman pitcher Katelyn Oxley then walked Emily Smith.

After a strikeout and a sacrifice bunt that moved runners to second and third, Amy Bak bounced a grounder to second that Bartow second baseman Kamryn Cribbs couldn’t come up with and both Durant runners scored.

“She (Bak) got on top of the ball but it had a high enough bounce that the infielder either either had to charge it or stay back. She stayed back,” Durant coach Olivia Cuellar said. “We were thinking the first team to make a mistake, that would determine the game, and that’s kind of what happened.”

Although she had five walks on the night, Oxley pitched well allowing only two hits and striking out 15 against a Durant team that came into the game with a .440 team batting average and averaging more than 10 runs per game.

Bartow scored its one run in the sixth when Mari Stephens tripled and scored on Oxley’s sacrifice fly.

The Yellow Jackets had other chances to score as well.

In the third, Peyton Mathis singled and Shayla Narcisse followed with a bunt single to lead off the inning. Kailey Guethle sacrificed them to second and third, but Durant pitcher Haleigh Thomas came back with a pair of strikeouts to get out of the inning.

“We had second and third and one out with (Nos.) 2 and 3 hitters up and we couldn’t get the job done,” Rutenbar said

The Yellow Jackets also had a one-out double by McKenzie Gibson in the fourth and runners on first and second in the seventh but couldn’t score.

“When you have that many chances to get the job done, you’ve got to get it done,” Rutenbar said. “When you don’t, this is what happens.”

Bartow finished the night with six hits but left eight runners on base.