Winning weekend for softballers marked by thrilling title game victory, 4-2 overall record
Lexington, SC (James Bowers)-2018 marks the first year that the Lexington County Lady Blowfish softball club has offered a 12-U team, but the squad is already playing like veterans. The ladies picked up a victory in the Top Gun “April Bling Showdown” tournament in Sumter over the weekend of April 28-29. The young team rallied from an 0-2 start to win their last four games, including a thriller in the title game against the Florence Fusion.
Coach Chad Carpenter called the contest a back and forth thriller. Florence had a 5-2 lead around the midway point of the game, when the Lady Blowfish rallied to tie the game at 5. Though the Fusion got back on top by a 7-5 margin, the Blowfish were able to pick up three runs in the final inning to claim the game and the championship thanks to a two-run hit from Kiley Samford who was able to run home for the game winner thanks to a line drive from Breanna Brown.
“I was so proud of the girls, they just didn’t quit,” Coach Chad Carpenter said. “It was just so cool.” Carpenter added that the roster features a number of new players and that the tournament was just the Blowfish’s second of the year, making the championship all the more significant.A player who has hit in every single game for the 12-U Lady Blowfish is nine-year-old Ella Samford who Carpenter says is “holding her own” despite playing with and against much older players.
Though the Lady Blowfish have ten tournaments already scheduled for the rest of the year, their “April Bling Showdown” win earned them four additional paid berths to tourneys. Carpenter says the team will consider taking advantage of these opportunities if the parents and players are interested.
The 12-U team is one of four clubs in the Lady Blowfish softball program, which also fields 14-U, 16-U, and 18-U teams this year. All four squads will compete in a Mother’s Day weekend tourney the Blowfish are hosting at the Pine Grove Recreation Complex. Carpenter is excited about his team’s prospects. “The potential of this team is wherever they want to take it. I can’t be more proud of their never give up attitude,” he said.
For more information on the Lady Blowfish Softball program, contact the Lexington County Blowfish front office at www.goblowfishbaseball.com.
