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Carter Provided Steadying Hand

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By NICK WILLIAMS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 20, 2008

PLANT CITY - They listened to his words as if they were the only cure to the pain they were feeling. After the Durant softball team lost to Palm Beach Gardens in a heartbreaking 5-4 10-inning Class 6A state semifinal May 9, the players huddled around their coach, Matt Carter, who consoled them the only way he knew how.

He told them it wasn't the end of the world and they had nothing to be ashamed of.

"It's just a game," he said. "We had a good time and we have a blast together."

Although he was also disappointed, he didn't show it. He stayed strong for the girls.

"I'm too old," he joked. "I might have a heart attack if I got upset."

An assistant for eight years, Carter took over the program last year and guided the team to an undefeated district record, the 6A-District 8 title and a trip to the region quarterfinals with a 23-2 record. This season, he coached the program to its second state tournament appearance (last was in 2002, which he also coached) and a 25-6 record. Under Carter, the program is 48-8 in two seasons with two district titles and a region championship.

Carter is The Tampa Tribune's Hillsborough County Female Sport Coach of the Year.

When asked to name one of the main reasons why the team had reached the state tournament, junior outfielder Brandi Regan immediately said her coach.

"We couldn't have done it without him," she said.

Carter called every pitch for Hillsborough County Softball Athlete of the Year Sara DeMuth and was an offensive strategist in the postseason.

In the region quarterfinals and the region semifinals, he caught both Gaither and Countryside off guard by bunting. Against the Cowboys, Durant exposed Gaither's defense, particularly in the infield, with four of its eight hits being bunts in the 6-2 win.

"We didn't feel like we would outhit them," Carter said after the game.

At Countryside, Durant broke a 1-1 tie by scoring three runs in the top of the ninth inning. DeMuth, who had already struck out three times during the game, hit a single between first and second base to move Regan to third. Junior shortstop Kelsey Horton laid a bunt down the first-base line to bring home Regan, and DeMuth scored on an infielder's error on the next at-bat. That was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Kelly Jones to drive in Horton.

"Different team and a different time, but it just happened to work," Carter said.

When the team was just days away from the state tournament, Carter handled the week as if it was the first practice of the season.

"This is just another game," he said. "If we do the best we can, we have nothing to complain about."

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