Canterbury Softball Squad Wins State Championship

ST. PETERSBURG - The coach bus pulled into the Canterbury High School parking lot just before midnight Friday night. A few cars and a handful of people milled about the dark parking lot, muffled voices disrupting the sounds of birds and frogs and nature in the nearby wetlands.

The Crusaders' girls softball team filed off the bus as they have many times before. Physically, they appeared drained. But there was something odd about their appearance. They couldn't seem to stop smiling, all of them, the entire team.

For good reason. Just hours earlier, they won a state championship.

Kelsey Hill, a pinch-runner, scored from second on a single by Julia Cieutat in the bottom of the eighth to break a scoreless tie and win the game.

Hill got to the plate just a step and a half ahead of the throw she said. After sliding home she noticed team captain and four-year starter Krissy Longstreet jumping up and down and then she remembered her coach, Jody Moore, tackling her.

She doesn't remember much after that except that the Crusaders finally got their hardware.

Canterbury had advanced to the Class 1A state softball tournament the previous three seasons but couldn't close the deal. That was resolved Friday.

"It was a tweener," Hill said of Cieutat's hit, her voice hoarse from hours of screaming. "I ran as fast as I can. I slid home and I was in shock. At first I thought it was a dream."

"It was a power-slap that I hit right up the middle," Cieutat said of her championship-winning hit. "I rounded first and I forgot I was running. I was yelling at Kelsey to run home. When she scored I ran toward her and got in the pile-up."

When Hill rounded third, Longstreet, who was on deck, sensed there would be a close play, motioned for Hill to slide to the outside of the plate.

"I saw her motion but it was all a blur," Hill said.

"It was close," said Longstreet, a four-year starter. "Finally."

"It was a well-played game and a great way to win," Moore said.

The championship by the Crusaders marks the first state title of any sport in school history.

"It hasn't hit me yet," senior Sarah Fleming said, fighting back tears. "It's a bittersweet ending. It's a great way to end my senior year but it's definitely sad knowing this was my last competitive game."