FWB, Niceville softball both run into aces to end state playoff hopes

Niceville ran into LSU-bound Jayden Heavener. Fort Walton Beach ran into Leila Ammon.

The result was a pair of season-ending losses for the last two remaining area high school softball teams in the FHSAA playoffs, Fort Walton Beach stranding the tying run at second in a 2-1 home loss to Gulf Breeze while the Eagles lost 9-0 at Pace.

Fort Walton Beach finishes its season at 18-1, the Vikings District 1-5A champs and for a second straight year Sweet 16 competitors.

Niceville concludes its season at 18-9, the Eagles District 2-6A champs as they brushed aside last year's uncharacteristic 12-12 campaign.

It's a simple reminder that, as Niceville coach Danny Hensley once said following a loss in the state championship, only one team in each class will end its season victorious.

Fort Walton Beach entered Region 1-5A as the No. 2 seed, built upon the class' top strength of schedule, a deadly lineup and a resurgence of Ava Smith. Smith struck out six Gulf Breeze batters and danced around six hits and six walks to allow just two earned runs Tuesday. She finishes the season with a 2.78 ERA, 12-9 record and 123 strikeouts in 143 2/3 innings.

Smith's adversary on the mound, Ammon, was able to do what few pitchers have done in keeping the Vikings' lineup off-balance. Alyx Hall had the only two hits, including a double in the sixth in which she came around to score on an error for the Vikings' only run. Hall finishes the season with a slash line of .459/.509/.800 and 35 RBIs, 22 runs, 17 extra-base hits and six home runs. The junior went 5-for-6 in the postseason with a homer, two RBIs, three runs and was stranded on deck in the bottom of the seventh inning.

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Hannah Isham batted .417 on the season with 27 runs and 14 stolen bases, while Smith helped out her own cause with a .344 batting average and 20 RBIs. Aubree Davis tacked on six homers and 19 RBIs, while Izzy Douglas drove in 20 runs.

For Niceville, an 18-strikeout no-hitter from Heavener ended its season. Freshman Briana Noles led the team with a .383 batting average, 26 RBIs, 11 extra-base hits and three homers. Anabelle Shackelford followed with a .305 batting average, 18 runs and 14 RBIs, while Kam Neely drove in 14.

Splitting time on the mound, freshman Chloe Bailey finishes with a 2.11 ERA, 10-2 record, two saves and 139 strikeouts in 93 innings. Junior Emma Sits finishes with a 2.87 ERA, 8-6 record and 60 strikeouts in 87 2/3 innings.