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Seffner Christian Moves Within One Win Of Trip To State

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By GREGG BECNEL

Tribune correspondent

Published: April 26, 2008

SEFFNER - In a rematch of last week's district championship, Seffner Christian again got the best of Lakeland Sonrise Christian, this time rallying twice to defeat the Seminoles 6-5 in a Class 1A-Region 4 softball semifinal Friday.

The Crusaders (9-9) will host Canterbury in Tuesday's region championship.

Nicci Hopps, who led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, scored the winning run on an errant throw with one out.

"I told the girls during the game it's time to put up or shut up," Seffner Christian coach Greg Fawbush said. "The girls talked about winning in the playoffs and this was the time to see what they were made of."

Things didn't start well for the Crusaders, who lost both regular-season meetings with Sonrise Christian.

Helped by two errors and a walk, the Seminoles plated four runs after batting around in the top of second inning.

Seffner Christian answered in the bottom half of the second, scoring twice, highlighted by Kelsey Schubel's RBI single.

In the third, Hopps scored off Dionne Luke's fielder's choice and Ashley Schubel tied it at 4 when she scored from third on a wild pitch.

After Janci Wise's solo homer in the fifth put the Seminoles up 5-4, Seffner Christian tied it on Luke's RBI single in the bottom half of the fifth.

"We could've quit after the second inning. We could've quit after the home run," Fawbush said. "But this team doesn't have quit in it."

Seventh-grader Jenna Botto (5-7) picked up the win. She gave up eight hits and two walks in seven innings, while striking out two.

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