East Bay Softball Are The 2010 Class 5A State Champions

East Bay Softball Are The 2010 Class 5A State Champions
By Tamas Mondovics
It is safe to say that to end the season, as well as a high school career, as state champion would be on the top of the wish list of any senior student-athlete. For the East Bay High School Indians softball team such a wish is now a reality.The Indians, with Head Coach Glenn Rodriguez at the helm, were able to defeat the Niceville Eagles 2-0 in the Class 5A State Championship last month. The closest Rodriguez and his girls have ever come to winning the title was in 2001, as the program then reached the state semifinals.“It is like winning the World Series,” Rodriguez said. Interestingly, this year’s win caps another record as it marks the first state team title in the school’s 52-year history of any sport.“Our goal was to win state championship,” Rodriguez said, who has been coaching the Indians softball program for the past 13 years. In their last six games, played East Bay did not give up any runs and finished the season with a 24-7-1 record, which was enough for the program to claim to be this year’s best. While coaches and athletes celebrated their success, the festivities did not linger on the field. A celebratory luncheon and a school-wide pep rally was the following day’s order, led by Principal Sharron Morris, who could not have been any more proud of her student-athletes. “It has been fantastic,” Morris said. “School spirit is at an all-time high, especially for this time of year.”Morris also commented on the attention the school and the program have been getting since the victory, saying, “Our school is getting such positive reactions from the community. The support has been magnificent.”The East Bay High School faculty, staff and student body is now in the process of raising money to purchase championship rings for each player. The team will also travel to Tampa this month to meet the Hillsborough County Commissioners.While losing some key senior players, like star pitcher Kayla Cox and lead hitter Elizabeth Nugent, is inevitable, the Indians are sporting a talented young team, all of whom planning to return for the next season with hopes of keeping the trophy at East Bay High for another year. For more information about the program and the season’s statistics, visit www.maxpreps.com.