CLERMONT — Moments after Plant fell 3-2 to Boca Raton Spanish River in the Class 7A state softball final Saturday afternoon, tears welled in the eyes of Panthers coach Lauren Donahue.
“This hurts a lot,” she said, “but the journey to get here still feels wonderful.”
The journey, especially for the six seniors who spent four years with the program, was nothing short of remarkable.
Plant finished 2023 with a 27-5 record after playing great one final time in their last game of the season.
Four years ago? The Panthers finished 2-6 in the pandemic-shortened season. In 2021, they were 8-13. Last year, they went 13-12.
Asked how the 2023 team turned things around so dramatically, senior Gracie Ciccarello was proud and matter-of-fact.
“When we came in as freshmen, the culture really wasn’t that good,” she said. “As we grew older, we kept working hard on changing it. Then last year, our junior year, you could really feel it starting to change and we became more than just teammates. We became a family. We were willing to do everything and anything for each other.
“And because of all those things, we just kept playing better and better and better.”
They played so well, in fact, that Plant — with each of the seniors (Elizabeth Breen, Abby Lucas, Lauren Luciani, Teagan Riley, Lauren Callahan and Ciccarello) contributing in one way or another — won 19 straight games before Saturday.
“There are really no words for the journey, because it’s been so amazing,” Donahue said. “You have to remember that this group did what only three Plant teams have done before, which is reach a state final.”
The last time the Panthers made it to a state softball final was 2000. Before that, it was 1991.
This year, if not for a couple of plays that didn’t go their way Saturday, the Panthers would have been the school’s first softball team to win a state crown.
In the bottom of the fifth, freshman Kate Compton led off with a deep shot to leftfield but was called out on a bang-bang play sliding into second base.
Then, with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Lucas hit a deep double to centerfield. A couple of batters and another out later, Riley rifled a single to left. Lucas was rounding third and seemingly headed for home, only to be held up by the third base coach.
The next hitter, Luciani, flew out to shortstop to end the inning.
“It’s one of those things where if you send her and she scores then you look like a genius, but if you send her and she gets thrown out then you get all the blame for doing the wrong thing,” Donahue said. “I trust my coaches, and you can’t have any regrets.”
Plant led 2-1 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth on three singles and a sacrifice fly, but a baserunner was doubled off at first base on yet another close call.
“In the end, we left everything we had on the field, just like we have all year,” Donahue said. “What more can you ask for? I couldn’t ask anything more from this team. They are great in so many ways. I am so, so proud of them.”
Spanish River (17-8-1) scored two runs in the top of the sixth on two singles, a double and a sacrifice bunt.
In the previous night’s semifinal, Luciani singled in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Wellington 2-1.
“I have never been so happy to see a teammate get a hit in my life,” Ciccarello said. “(Luciani’s) walkoff (single) made me feel better than any hit I had.”
The softball team’s run was yet another in a long list of athletic accomplishments for Plant, which in the past six years has had at least one of its girls team sports (those not featuring individual titles) reach at least a state semifinal.
Three days ago, Plant’s baseball team reached the state final before falling to Parkland Marjory Stoneman Douglas.