Plant wins Spring Fling softball tourney

Posted Mar 27, 2010 by Nick Williams

Updated Mar 27, 2010 at 09:22 PM

LITHIA With two outs and two runners on in the bottom of the seventh, Bloomingdale sophomore Marlie Braddy stepped to the plate with a chance to drive in the tying or winning run.

Braddy cracked a rocket toward left field, and just as it appeared to sail into an opening, Plant freshman shortstop Ashley Cozart soared into the air for a one-handed catch. That ended the game, sealing a 4-3 Panthers win in the 14th annual Jon Sinclair Memorial Spring Fling tournament final Saturday.

Bloomingdale trailed 4-0 entering the final inning but scored three runs off four hits to make it a one-run game.

“We brought it all together when we needed to,” Plant sophomore pitcher Rose Yanger said. “The last inning was very nerve wracking.”

Yanger (6-0) was named Plant’s MVP and received a $500 scholarship check. Yanger went 2-0 in the tournament, including a shutout over Newsome in the quarterfinals, with one save. In the championship game, she allowed nine hits with five strikeouts and no walks.

Bloomingdale coach Mike Clamon was certain the hit was going to go over Cozart’s head.

“Didn’t you?” he asked. “It was a great hit and a great play by [Cozart].”

“I knew I could jump,” said Cozart, who is listed at 5-foot-10 on Plant’s varsity volleyball roster. “I was going to do everything I could to not let it get passed me.”

Junior third baseman Kaelyn Castellanos went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and one run scored to lead the Bulls (13-8). Senior pitcher Alexa Lopez was named Bloomingdale’s MVP and received a $250 scholarship check.

East Bay (13-7-1) defeated Wharton (10-9), 7-1, in the third-place game. Freshman Aliceson Holliday went 2-for-3 with a RBI and run scored while senior Elizabeth Nugent added a solo home run, her second of the tournament. Junior catcher Sierra Rock, filling in at pitcher for the weekend, was named East Bay’s MVP to receive a $250 scholarship check.

Lakewood Ranch defeated Lakeland George Jenkins, 2-0, in the consolation championship.