Lady Bucs Survive Bozeman Rally In 25-run Thriller, Punch Ticket To Regional Final

PANAMA CITY — North Bay Haven’s Kaylee Goodpaster capitalized on a Bozeman error in the bottom of the seventh inning, racing from second base and sliding home to clinch a 13-12 win and send the Lady Buccaneers to the Class 2A regional final.

Tuesday night's matchup marked the third meeting this season between North Bay Haven and Bozeman, with the Buccaneers winning the previous two contests by a combined score of 25-5.

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The bats came out blazing, as Bozeman jumped to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning, capitalizing on a bases-loaded situation and two walks issued by North Bay Haven pitcher Addison Mallon.

The freshman had an uncharacteristic outing, allowing 10 hits, four walks and eight runs while recording just five strikeouts.

Pitching struggles were a common theme, as Bozeman starter Callie Le gave up five runs in the bottom of the first inning, with Bozeman now in a 5-4 deficit. The rally was highlighted by a Goodpaster RBI double.

"I told my girls we just put four in the first inning, that team is too good to think we were going to shut them out, Bozeman head coach Jared Smith said. "They are going to score, but keep pushing in the same direction and fight for each other, and we will have a chance."

Trailing 5-4 in the second inning, the Lady Bucks found themselves in trouble again as passed balls and fielding errors allowed North Bay Haven to extend its lead to 12-4. Bozeman Sophomore Nya Bautista was brought in but allowed four walks and five runs. Bautista was replaced in the third inning by seventh grader Avery Obert.

That’s when the momentum began to shift. Obert found her rhythm in the circle, while Bozeman’s offense started making the most of their opportunities against Mallon. North Bay Haven turned to pitchers Ally Brady and Kalli Stokes for a spark, but the Lady Bucks continued to string together solid at-bats. The top of the fourth stretched to nearly 30 minutes, and by the time Mallon returned to the circle, Bozeman had rallied for eight runs to even the score at 12 heading into the fifth.

The crowd energy was electric on both sides, fueling strong defensive play throughout. After two scoreless innings, Goodpaster led off the bottom of the seventh with her second line-drive double of the night, setting the stage for the Lady Buccaneers to complete the comeback with a walk-off win.

"There was a lot of fight both sides, and my hat goes off to them because they brought it," North Bay Haven head coach Butch Bernard said. "This team always plays us tough, no matter what the record is and especially in games that matter."

The Lady Buccaneers will host Baldwin in a rematch of the 2023 regional quarterfinal, where they dominated North Bay Haven with a 15-0 victory. No. 1 North Bay Haven will host No. 2 Baldwin for the Class 2A Regional championship on May 15.

Class 4A

Arnold 2, Baker County 1

The Lady Marlins are headed to the Elite Eight after a thrilling extra-inning win over No. 1 Baker County. Behind pitcher Bre Clark’s dominant performance, racking up nine strikeouts, both teams were locked in a scoreless battle through seven innings. But in the eighth, clutch hits from Justice Taylor and Hayley Sexton brought home Taylor Collins and Kaylie Mellies, breaking the deadlock and sealing the victory.

No. 4 Arnold will travel to No. 2 Fort Walton Beach for a rematch of this season's district championship, which Fort Walton won 5-4 in 10 innings.

Banji Bamidele is a sports reporter for the Panama City News Herald. He can be reached at abamidele@gannett.com or through X, formerly known as Twitter, @AdebanjiBamide1.

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Florida State commit Kaylee Goodpaster scores game-winning run to cap off Class 2A regional semifinal victory