Niceville softball heads into spring break 6-2 behind its ace, Bailey

FORT WALTON BEACH — Area's best pitcher versus area's best hitter: This was the kind of at-bat that puts butts in the softball bleachers.

Down 7-1 to Niceville in the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs and no one one in front of a packed home crowd, Fort Walton Beach was dead in the water. Niceville ace Chloe Bailey had struck out 12 up to that point with just three four hits and a pair of walks allowed, but two fieldable balls bounced out of gloves and a deep fly ball by Rilyn Douglas hit off the right field wall to drive in a run and put runners on second base and third for Alyx Hall.

Up five with the tying run in the hole, no big deal right? Wrong. Not when Hall is hitting .571 with five homers and an insane .667 OBP/1.333 slugging percentage/2.000 OPS.

So out from the dugout strolled Niceville skipper Danny Hensley to talk to his sophomore right-hander.

Niceville pitcher Chloe Bailey throws during the Fort Walton Beach Niceville softball game at FWB.

"I told her, 'This kid is the best hitter in the area and we got a battle right here,' " Hensley said. "We don't want to put her on because we get closer to the tying run coming to the plate. So I said, 'Use your good stuff: in or out. She's a great hitter and the only way we're going to get her out is to keep her off-balanced. We can't do the same two pitches in a row because she is so hard to get out.' "

After starting Hall with an outside fastball and a breaking ball high for 2-0, Bailey painted the inside corner for a strike. Hall didn't offer on an offspeed pitch outside make it 3-1, but Bailey got her to foul off a high fastball to bring the count full.

Unflinching, Bailey buckled down and threw a fastball that cut in on Hall's wrists and tied her up. Hall couldn't even get the bat off her shoulders, the ump ringing her up on the backward K.

"You just got to take a deep breath and let all your nerves out and trust your pitch and feel it," Bailey said. "I felt good with this pitch and location, so I was like, I'm just going to let it go and see what happens."

The result was postseason-esque win and a 6-2 record headed into spring break, Niceville blessed with a 12-day break before traveling to Navarre on March 25.

"I was proud of Chloe," Hensley said. "To have a sophomore in that situation, that's a postseason feeling right there. You got to have that grind right there, that mentality that you can get anybody out in a key situation. Hopefully it'll pay dividends down the right going through that matchup right there."

Niceville head coach Danny Hensley watches his the Lady Vikings warm up during the Fort Walton Beach Niceville softball game at FWB.

Not only did the win improve Bailey's record to 5-1, it bolstered her 0.72 ERA and 0.81 WHIP and padded her swing-and-miss stuff to 88 Ks in 48 innings. That's 13 Ks per seven innings, a figure Niceville's staff hasn't seen since the days of hoisting state trophies.

"My best pitch is my curve. It just has really good break," said Bailey, who noted it was Hensley her taught her how to pitch. "My rise ball is pretty good. I'm working on a screw ball, and my changeup is iffy. It works when it works."

How's this for good break? Fort Walton Beach had more than 45 swings-and-misses Thursday night. Some didn't even get the bat off their shoulders. But more than her tangible gifts, Hensley praised Bailey's work ethic off the mound.

"Her offseason preparation and the work she's put in has put her confidence sky high right now," Hensley said. "She feels good about what she's doing out there and she's throwing the ball harder and make it break better than she ever has. When we were in the offseason, we were running sprints and she's out in front of the pack and challenging everyone to better. In turn, she's celebrating her teammates every time they make a play for her and that makes them want to play for her and make even more plays.

Niceville pitcher Chloe Bailey delivers to the plate during the Fort Walton Beach Niceville softball game at FWB.

"There's a lot of good energy out there."

The energy is felt in the box score. You have sophomore Briana Noles and junior Anabelle Shackelford shining at the top of the lineup, the latter with three homers, 11 RBI, 11 runs, seven extra-base hits, five stolen bases and a .467/.964/1.431 slash line and the latter with a team-best .450 batting average and .500 OBP to accent eight runs. Bailey, meanwhile, is hitting .393 with 9 RBI, 3 long balls and fellow sophomores Quinn Graham (two walks Thursday and a .600 OBP) and Molly Mayfield (.440 OBP) are finding ways to get on base.

"There's a lot of youth in them," Hensley said. "We're starting six or seven sophomores and only two seniors in the lineup with only one batting, so they're very young. The biggest thing that is unique about them, and it's fun to coach but can also drive you a little bit crazy, is their energy. That's good in a way in getting each other fired up."

But it also means there's nightly teaching moments, like misplayed balls in the seventh inning or chasing pitches early out of the strike sone.

"I try to talk to them about being better students of the game," Hensley said. "We were chasing that drop ball early one, and we finally stopped doing that in the middle innings and later on. If we don't mature as a ballclub, the word's going to get out: Just don't throw them strikes. So that part we got to be better."

For now the Eagles will enjoy this win against a program that's ranked seventh in 4A and coming off back-to-back Sweet 16 runs.

"They got a quality ball club," Hensley said. "You gotta bring your A-Game or they'll knock you off."

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Niceville softball moves to 6-2 behind pitching, top of lineup

Topics

Texas softball: No. 2 Longhorns excited to open SEC play against No. 3 Florida

Texas softball is 24-1, one of the best starts in program history, behind slugger Reese Atwood and pitching ace Teagan Kavan.
Yahoo Sports - 49m
Dan Lanning explains reasoning behind hosting spring games at Oregon

Dan Lanning explains reasoning behind hosting spring games at Oregon
Yahoo Sports - 18h
NFL free agency: Browns starter Bailey Zappe signs with Chiefs

After starting one game for the Browns in 2024, Bailey Zappe is heading back to the Chiefs in NFL free agency
Yahoo Sports - 1h
University of Pittsburgh student missing on spring break trip to the Dominican Republic

International authorities are searching for a University of Pittsburgh student who disappeared while on a spring break trip to the Dominican Republic last week.
NBC News - 4d
Search continues for college student who vanished during spring break in Dominican Republic

The search for missing University of Pittsburgh student Sudiksha Konanki, who vanished last week while on a spring break trip in the Dominican Republic.
NBC News - 4d
From busy airports to savings, here's what to know about spring break travel

Airlines and airports say they expect to be busier than ever during spring break, which covers much of March and April. AAA says on average domestic air fares are up 7% from last year, while hotels ...
CBS News - 1d
Texas Tech explosion forces early spring break

An explosion at a substation on the Texas Tech campus has caused power outages at the Texas Tech and the Health Sciences Center Wednesday evening, according to a TechAlert.
The Hill - 1d
How transfer portal miscalculations derailed Rutgers' most anticipated season of college basketball ever

Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey were great, but coach Steve Pikiell failed to deliver necessary pieces around them
CBS Sports - 21h
Do spring games hurt more than they help? A look at the changes being made

With more schools opting out of spring games, we examine the reasoning behind those decisions.
ESPN - 3d

Niceville softball heads into spring break 6-2 behind its ace, Bailey

Topics

Related

Texas softball: No. 2 Longhorns excited to open SEC play against No. 3 Florida

Dan Lanning explains reasoning behind hosting spring games at Oregon

NFL free agency: Browns starter Bailey Zappe signs with Chiefs

University of Pittsburgh student missing on spring break trip to the Dominican Republic

Search continues for college student who vanished during spring break in Dominican Republic

From busy airports to savings, here's what to know about spring break travel

Texas Tech explosion forces early spring break

How transfer portal miscalculations derailed Rutgers' most anticipated season of college basketball ever

Do spring games hurt more than they help? A look at the changes being made

More from Yahoo Sports

Cowboys Beef: DeMarcus Lawrence vs Micah Parsons Breakdown + NFL Free Agency Winners & Losers | Inside Coverage

As Cooper Kupp decision nears, 2 teams seem to be front runners

The Bearcat Tip Off Talk Podcast: Cole Baughman

After struggling in Hong Kong because he might've had 'a rib out,' Dustin Johnson rallies

Jordan Reid: Tennessee Titans most likely to draft a quarterback in Round 1

More in Sports

Cowboys Beef: DeMarcus Lawrence vs Micah Parsons Breakdown + NFL Free Agency Winners & Losers | Inside Coverage

As Cooper Kupp decision nears, 2 teams seem to be front runners

The Bearcat Tip Off Talk Podcast: Cole Baughman

After struggling in Hong Kong because he might've had 'a rib out,' Dustin Johnson rallies

Jordan Reid: Tennessee Titans most likely to draft a quarterback in Round 1