GROVELAND, Fla — The South Lake softball team made history by going to the state championship for the first time. Junior pitcher Alanna O’Brien leads the team as a pitcher, and a hitter.

"Alanna is definitely a hitter and a pitcher, so you see a lot of just pitchers only, especially the higher up you get in softball," third-year head coach Kahley Armstrong told Spectrum News. "She is for sure a pitcher and a hitter. She even walked off a couple of games for us.

"Having her to be able to hit behind herself on the mound just kind of helps her stay in the game and keeps her focused and in it."

"So, whenever I am up to bat and we need, like, a hit, there is a runner on," O'Brien said. "It is the best feeling to get the runner in." 

She said she fell in love the with the game while watching her dad play as a kid.

"I was always able to go with my dad when he was playing slow-pitch, so I was able to start playing and I fell in love with the game," O'Brien said.

Her favorite pitch to use is the screwball — it's one she has been working on for the last few years.

"Whenever I throw it, (the ball) starts inside and breaks off so much, and it’s so fun to see people try to hit it because it is a really nasty pitch," O'Brien said.

The team has made school history this year: They are competing for the school's first state championship ever after defeating East Bay 1-0 in the state semi-finals on May 26.

"This team is just something else, so from the very beginning, we knew that it was going to be a very good year," Armstrong said.

"It feels really good — we have been working on it for three years to get to it," O'Brien said. "Everyone is really happy for us because we haven’t made it this far in a few years, so we have a lot of attention on us and it's really exciting."

What makes it more exciting is the fact the state championships are being held at Legends Way Ball Fields in Clermont, which is only 9 miles away from South Lake High School.

"It is just so much fun being able to drive 15 minutes down the road and our fan base will be there," said Armstrong.

"Most of us grew up playing on these fields, it’s like our home field," said O'Brien.