The underclassmen handled the pitching, and the seniors took care of most of the hitting, but the Lady Bulldogs came up just short in their 4-3 season opening loss to Sunlake Tuesday night.
Pitchers’ sophomore Bella Wright and freshman Briana Vega combined to allow just four runs on seven hits. Vega registered nine strikeouts in five innings of work. Offensively, Senior shortstop Hannah Helms went 3-for-4 and fellow seniors Dakota Deck and Isabella Rivera each added a hit.
Helms nearly walked it off in the bottom of the seventh as the Bulldogs tried to rally from a 4-2 deficit. Her blast to centerfield hit off the fence netting just one run. With runners at second and third with just one out and trailing 4-3, the Lady Bulldogs could pull off the comeback.
“We didn’t give up,” said Zephyrhills head coach Kristen Dumont. “Last year, we would have lost a game like that 10-0. They played to the very last pitch, to the very last strike. They fought.”
With a team stacked with senior leadership and talent, Dumont sees the 2025 squad turning the page.
“It’s definitely a different team,” Dumont said. “I’ve had these seniors since they were freshmen. They are the same girls with different attitudes. They like each other, they’re talking, and they fight to the end.
“We’re going to build off this momentum. We’re gonna keep the train a’ truckin.”