As this paper hits newsstands, the Key West Lady Conchs softball team is taking their talents to the state Final Four.
The Lady Conchs continued their postseason march with a dominant 8-0 victory over the Somerset Academy Panthers in Key West in the FHSAA 4A regional semifinals on May 12.
The Panthers were the same Somerset program that ended the Conchs’ baseball season earlier this spring, but the Lady Conchs avenged that loss on their own diamond.
Key West pounded out 11 hits in the shutout win, led by Kaleaya Dickerson’s three-hit performance. Maicee Gage and Shylo Sanchez each added a double and a single, while freshman Charlie Bracher continued her postseason power surge with two hits, including a home run. Lilee Gage and Kaleya Cervantes accounted for the remaining hits as the Conchs kept pressure on the Panthers throughout the evening.
Key West ace Brianna Brenner tossed a complete-game shutout, striking out seven batters while allowing just four hits over seven innings. She did not issue a single walk as Key West controlled the game from start to finish.
The win secured the Lady Conchs a spot in the FHSAA 4A Region 4 finals, placing Key West among the final eight teams still competing for a state title. However, weather delays across the state forced the team to wait before learning who their next opponent would be.
Once the weather cleared, the matchup was set: The Lady Conchs would travel to Plantation on May 15 to face the regional top-seeded American Heritage Patriots with a trip to the state Final Four on the line.
Key West was the underdog in that matchup, but someone forgot to tell the Lady Conchs. Brenner took control from the start, and, with a defensive wall behind her, led Key West through seven scoreless innings and into overtime play.
Key West’s lone senior, Shylo Sanchez, was not about to let the Patriots end her final shot at a state title. Sanchez led the offense, going 2-for-3 and drawing a walk for the Conchs. Sanchez now holds the school record for most walks in a single season with 20. Bracher again delivered at the plate with a solid double, but neither athlete was able to round the bases to put Key West on the board.
That distinction would go to Lilee Gage, who made the final out in the seventh and was placed on second base at the start of Key West’s offensive half of the overtime inning according to playoff tiebreaker rules. Dickerson laid down a sacrifice bunt to put Gage in scoring position with one away.
A fly out made it two down with Gage still waiting on third when her twin sister Maicee stepped up to the plate. Maicee had two strikes against her when she made contact for a solid single, sending Lilee home and giving Key West the go-ahead run. But the Patriots had the final at-bat.
Whether fatigue would become a factor for the untouchable Brenner would remain a mystery; the cosmos aligned for Key West in a two-pitch, three-out series of unusual events. Like Key West, the Patriots started their half of the inning with a runner on second, and one pitch later, a bunt sent a pair of runners in motion. The baserunner on second did not even hesitate at third, sprinting all the way home and tapping home plate while the hitter made her way halfway around the bases.
But for unclear reasons, the on-deck hitter for American Heritage came onto the field to retrieve a bat, making contact with the Conch catcher, Sanchez, and a savvy umpire ruled the would-be tying run out due to offensive interference. On the same call, the hitter was sent back to first, and with one out down, Key West buzzed with excitement. Brenner’s next pitch turned into a double play between Cervantes and Lucy Katz to end the game, sending the Conchs into the Final Four and ending the season for the stunned Patriots.
Just one game now separates the Key West Lady Conchs from a berth in the state championship game, and the obstacle standing in their way is a familiar one. The Lake Wales Highlanders, a team that defeated Key West twice during the regular season, enter the state semifinal with a 24-6 record and hopes of completing the season sweep against the 17-9 Conchs.
But the Lady Conchs believe this matchup could look very different from the previous two meetings.
“This past Friday was as hot as it gets,” said head coach Jason Garcia. “Pitching and defense showed up and showed out. Brianna (Brenner) was outstanding and the players behind played flawless. For us to be successful against Lake Wales we will have to bring the same intensity, focus and never give up mentally. Pitching and defense will be the key.”
While the earlier losses may favor the Highlanders on paper, Key West enters the Final Four playing its best softball of the season. The Conchs’ offense, which was still finding its rhythm early in the year, has come alive during the postseason, while Brenner has been dominant in the circle. Both teams also posted similar results against Winter Haven this season, suggesting the semifinal matchup could be much tighter than the earlier scores between Key West and Lake Wales might indicate, and if fan bases have any measure in the outcome, it is notable that the entire island chain has turned its focus on the southernmost softball crew. Should the Conchs prevail, they will play May 23 against the winner of the Columbia vs. Seminole game for the FHSAA 4A state title.
Thus far, Key West has scored 24 runs off 27 hits this postseason, and in addition to Sanchez’s record, two more have fallen in the past week. Brenner set a program record with 19 innings of scoreless ball. The junior hurler has not given up a single earned run in the team’s trek toward a state title, and has been a major piece of Key West’s record-breaking nine team shutouts this season.
