Agape Freedom Sports LLC

WRITTEN BY: JERIC YURKANIN

When it comes to a fight… a battle… when games stretch into extra innings, those are the moments that define you.

You can fold.

You can tell yourself it’s over.

You can look across the field and believe the other team is more talented, more experienced, just better.

Or…

You can fight.

Those moments don’t just live on a softball field. They show up in life — at work, paying bills, battling illness, losing loved ones, walking away from relationships, dealing with mistakes we wish we could take back.

Every battle — in sports or in life — comes down to a choice:

Give in… or dig in.

Tonight, the Lakeland Lady Chiefs were faced with that exact moment against a ranked Blue Ridge Lady Raiders team.

And what unfolded… felt like something bigger than just a game.

From the start, Lakeland showed they came ready.

Top of the first — the defense locks in. Three up, three down.

Bottom half — here comes the spark.

Mick Eremo draws a walk. Then chaos on the basepaths — she steals second, then aggressively takes third.

Senior Olivia Cunningham grounds out to second… but it’s enough.

Eremo crosses the plate.

1-0 Lady Chiefs.

But Blue Ridge answered.

They tied it in the second, then exploded in the third.

A bunt single from Peyton Rutter.

A base hit from Trista Laude.

Then Abby Piechocki rips a double.

Just like that — the momentum flipped.

5-1 Blue Ridge.

And you could feel it… that moment creeping in.

The doubt.

The pressure.

The question: Do you have enough?

But Lakeland didn’t blink.

Zoey Gregory gets things going with a single.

Mick Eremo — known for her bat — steps up and drives a double to center.

Now the energy is building.

Abby Ross works a walk.

Then junior Kamri Naniewicz delivers — a clutch hit to right, stretching it into second on the throw.

Two runs score.

5-3 game.

They’re back in it.

The middle innings? A grind.

Fourth — nothing.

Fifth — Blue Ridge adds one. 6-3.

Sixth — both teams trade punches defensively.

Top of the seventh — Lakeland shuts the door again.

And now…

Here it is. The moment.

Down 6-3, bottom of the seventh, final at-bats coming up.

What do you choose?

They chose fight.

Zoey Gregory singles.

Eremo reaches on a fielder’s choice.

Then Olivia Lach steps in — and rips a double to center.

Eremo scores.

6-4.

Olivia Cunningham follows — base hit.

Lach scores.

“Now that I’m a senior, I’ve been in this situation many times and what I’ve learned is just to stay calm, try to see pitches, and have a good at bat to help my team,” said Olivia Cunningham.

She continued: “During this game specifically, it was really important to keep the energy up and just be positive and encouraging to all of our teammates. There was a couple innings where we were down by two runs and we knew we had to keep our momentum up to fight back and win. It definitely played a huge role in getting base runners on and getting hits.”

6-5.

Now the pressure is suffocating.

Naniewicz puts the ball in play… and it finds a crack.

An error.

Cunningham scores.

6-6.

Tie game.

“In that moment, I was just focused on doing my job and staying calm. I knew the team was counting on me, so I tried not to overthink it. I was just trusting my training, put the ball in play, and gave us a chance to make something happen,” said Lakeland junior outfielder Kamri Naniewicz.

The dugout is alive. The crowd is on its feet.

You can feel it — this game isn’t ending easy.

Eighth inning — both teams refuse to give an inch.

Then the ninth.

Blue Ridge strikes first.

Hailey Carpenetti triples — a shot into the gap.

Piechocki brings her in.

Then Kaylee Blewitt lifts a sac fly.

8-6 Blue Ridge.

And again… that moment returns.

Back against the wall.

Last chance.

But Lakeland had been here before.

Those one-run losses last year.

Those bad innings.

Those games that slipped away.

They remembered.

“Like I said in the podcast, last season we were in many situations where we fell just a run or two short so tonight it was definitely refreshing to be on the other side of that and get the win. It gave us the confidence that we needed to continue playing hard and just knowing that one bad game doesn’t define us,” said Olivia Cunningham.

And then they responded.

Olivia Lach steps in…

BOOM.

A two-run homer to right.

Tie game again. 8-8.

You could hear it off the bat.

No doubt.

No fear.

Just belief.

“In the bottom of the 9th, I was looking for any good pitch to hit, mentally telling myself that any base hit is crucial. When I hit the ball I knew it wasn’t gone, but when I saw that it was in fair territory I was confident I was making it home,” said Lakeland’s Olivia Lach.

She continued: “Our team’s mentality is to remain positive and stay up throughout the whole game no matter the score. We brush off our mistakes and keep our heads up which lead us to our win tonight.”

Abby Ross follows with a single.

And now — the moment finds its player again. Same important at-bat. Big-time player stepping up in a clutch moment.

Kamri Naniewicz.

She puts the ball in play…

Pitcher tries to make a play — and it gets away.

Ross is flying.

She crosses the plate.

Ballgame.

LAKELAND WINS: 9 TO 8!!! 💪🥎

“I think my confidence comes from the preparation and trust in not only myself but also my team. I try to not focus on the pressure, but instead see it as an opportunity for success. When I keep this mindset, it makes it easier to step up and make those big plays possible,” said Naniewicz.

A game like this… you don’t forget.

“We definitely had many games and instances where we were right there and unfortunately couldn’t hang on to it. Our approach this year is to slow it down and take one inning at a time. Rather than the overall focus of winning the game we are focusing on winning the inning. Tonight it showed because they didn’t quit and stayed within the game until the very end,” said Lakeland head coach Dana Diskin.

This wasn’t just a win.

This was a statement.

A team that refused to quit.

A team that chose fight over fear.

“The girls today were focused. They stayed positive and up the entire game which is where we usually struggle. You can tell they wanted it and they played as a team and for each other. They picked each other up and came in clutch when it was their time to contribute,” said head coach Dana Diskin.

Mick Eremo — 4 runs scored.

Olivia Lach — 2 hits, including the game-tying home run.

Kamri Naniewicz — 2 hits, 2 RBIs, and the game-winner.

Zoey Gregory battled through 9 innings in the circle.

For Blue Ridge —

Kaylee Blewitt had 3 hits and scored 2 runs.

Hailey Carpenetti added 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

Two teams.

No quit.

No fear.

This was the kind of game where… honestly… nobody deserved to lose.

But that’s sports.

“Myself and my coaching staff strive on teaching our girls teamwork. The game cannot be won or happen depending on one player, it is the team that contributes to the overall factor. Letting the girls know we believe in them and the confidence they have themselves translates into what happened today, finishing out with the win,” said Dana Diskin.

And if this is any sign of what’s ahead…

Lakeland and Blue Ridge aren’t just good.

They’re dangerous.

And this rivalry?

It’s just getting started.

These are the moments that define a player. Define a team. Down a run or down a few, with just three outs left, the question is never only about talent — it is about response. Who are you when the pressure closes in? Who are you when the game is right there, but slipping? On this night, Lakeland answered with grit, guts, and game-changing fight. No panic. No quit. Just belief, heart, and a relentless refusal to let the moment beat them. And when the final run was recorded, the Lady Chiefs had done more than win a softball game — they had written an ending worthy of the stage. One filled with courage, comeback, and all glory. The story wrote itself from there, and the rest was history

————————-