The Smyrna High softball team played in its second straight 10-inning heart-stopper on Thursday, but this time the game ended in heartbreak for the Eagles.
In the state semifinals, the No. 3 seeded Smyrna girls fell to No. 10 seed Milford, the defending state champions, by a 5-4 final score after 10 innings of tense play on June 3 at Caesar Rodney High School.
Two days earlier, the Eagles came from behind to defeat No. 6 seed Archmere 2-1 in 10 innings.
Smyrna took a 2-0 lead in the first inning of Thursday’s semifinal game against Milford. Senior Kayla Carrow blasted a triple to right field and drove in Chelcey Tyre. Later, Carrow also crossed the plate on a pass ball.
Milford tied it up in the top of the fifth when an inside-the-park homerun brought in two Buccaneers.
Both teams had some good chances, but neither managed to score again until the 10th inning, when the international tiebreaker rule went into effect and each team started its at-bat with a runner on second.
In the top of the inning, the Bucs loaded up the bases with two outs, and then brought in three runs with a double followed by a base hit.
Despite trailing 5-2 and down to their final at-bat, the Eagles very nearly pulled off another comeback.
Tyre started on second, Carrow reached first on a bunt, and Courtney Carter also got on base on a dropped third strike as the Milford catcher held the runner on third.
Two Smyrna runners scored when Jordan Whitley put a ball in play, but that’s as close as the Eagles would get, and the game ended with the score 5-4.
The Eagles finish the season with a 17-4 overall record, and were also one of the last four teams standing in this year’s state tournament.
