The 2020-2021 Pines Charter Softball team were attempting to make another run at a state title after defeating Archbishop McCarthy in the district title game at the end of April. They made good on their promise of beating the Mavericks and beginning their push for states, similar to their run in the 2017-2018 season. First up on their path back to promise land, was Southridge high out of Miami. 

 Charter made very quick work of the Miami based school with a whopping final score of 15-0. After just 3 innings, The Jaguars were able to put up all 15 runs with 6 in the first, 3 in the second, and another 6 in the third to end the game. Star player, junior Lillian McCormick shares the team’s attitude after their regional quarter-final win, “Going into regionals we were so excited for what was ahead. We knew once we beat Southridge that we would have to come back and play McCarthy for the third time this season. We had already beaten them twice before, but it’s hard to beat a team three times in a row. Our softball team is rivals with McCarthy so it made that game so much more important to us. We knew that in order to win we had to leave everything on that field and we did just that”. After the battering of SouthRidge, this led the squad back to the highly anticipated rematch between Pines Charter and Archbishop McCarthy. However this time, it was at Charter’s home field after the lady jags walked into the Maverick’s house to bring home the district championship. This time around though, was no different from the previous outing. 

  This time, Charter took the fight to McCarthy and defeated them 7-2. This was, once again, a very dominant win in their very own playoff run. After the first inning, the game was tied 2-2 but after that it was all Pines Charter. The lady jags scored five runs, and their defense kept the Mavericks to just two runs. After this win, it was time for the softball team to compete in another regional final. 

   Their regional championship game was played against Fort Myers High School. The Fort Myers varsity softball team was having a very good season; their record was eighteen wins, six losses, and one tie. They were coming off four consecutive wins but so was the Pines Charter softball team. The lady jags knew that they needed to leave everything on that field if they wanted the chance to make it to the state championship. Fort Myers started hot, scoring two runs in the first inning; however, the lady jags weren’t going to back down. They tied up the game in the third inning. Fort Myers were able to score one run in the sixth inning and that was enough for them to win the game. Pines Charter lost 3-2 and that concluded their very impressive season. 

   Even though their season just ended, it’s not too early to look forward to next season. Mia Hernandez (10th Grade), tells her thoughts of the team’s expectations for next year, “ I’m excited for next year and I can’t wait to take my team even further than this season. We have so much potential and I can’t wait to show everyone what we’re capable of!” This squad had some serious talent and is still young which will give them time to reach their ultimate goal again, a state title. Next season is sure to be a big hit for the Pines Charter Softball team.