The Lady Cougars are proving that their disappointing 2015 season may well have been a fluke.
Brandon Wright | Tampa Bay Times Correspondent
Durant High’s softball team typically doesn’t come out of the box swinging.
“Historically, we are a team that usually starts out slow,” Cougars coach Matt Carter said. “Then we like to start peaking around spring break, so we can be at our highest point toward the end of the season.”
But that’s not to say Carter is planning on giving back the team’s Feb. 12 win against district rival Plant City.
“We are a young team,” he said. “So to get that type of win against a rival is always a good thing. Needless to say, the girls were in high spirits.”
That’s because the Cougars got all five runs in the final two innings, including four in the seventh, to beat the Raiders 5-3 on a Bayli Johns walk-off home run.
“I think that game really brought us together,” freshman third baseman Andrea Rebello said. “We bonded that night.”
A 4-1 win Friday, Feb. 23 against district foe Bloomingdale moved the Cougars to 4-1.
Durant, one of the more consistent teams in the area during the past decade, also is trying to put an atypical 8-18 season last year in the rearview mirror.
“It was a tough year,” Carter said.
One of the keys to that turnaround will be pitcher Sloan Hammons, who burst onto the scene as a freshman in 2014. Hammons went 12-6 with a 2.08 ERA and 141 strikeouts in 114.2 innings that year. But she struggled a bit as a sophomore, going 3-6 with a 4.99 ERA and just 45 strikeouts in 53.1 innings pitched.
“She put in the work over the summer, and her velocity looks very good,” Carter said. “We didn’t exactly have the best defense behind her last year, and when we tried to pitch to spots, the defense wasn’t always able to get to balls they should have.”
So far, so good. Hammons appears back to her 2014 form, posting a 4-1 record with 14 strikeouts through 15 innings pitched prior to the Bloomingdale game. Carter also is pleased with his depth in the circle, which includes Amanda Lasky, Mia Giovenco, Sam Hampton and Johns.
“It’s a good feeling because we’ll be able to mix and match when we get into our two March tournaments,” he said. “Some years, we’ve only had one good arm.”
But Durant’s biggest weapon will likely be its offense. The Cougars were averaging 9.3 runs per game before Tuesday’s game at East Bay and have a good mix of speed and power, especially at the top of the lineup.
“We’re going to make some things happen offensively,” Carter said. “We’re going to hit.”
Entering the week, five Cougars were hitting .400 or better, led by Selena Bezares’ .438 mark. Durant also has six homers — two by Johns, Traile Robbins and Bezares — and have stolen nine bags, led by Robbins’ three.
One major question mark, however, is the health of Farrell. The Florida Atlantic signee injured her left knee in practice last week and missed the Plant City game. Farrell, who saw her 2014 wiped out due to a knee injury, was placed in a brace Monday and the coaching staff seemed hopeful she would return in some capacity shortly.
“Getting her back in the lineup will be a huge help,” Bezares said.
May is a long way away, but the Cougars are likely eyeing another mark the 2012 team left — the school’s last state title.
“We all just get along so well,” Rebello said. “There’s a chemistry and a lot of potential here.”
Note: This Tampa Bay Times story has been updated to reflect recent statistical and game information.
