CLERMONT, Fla. — When state champions were crowned in high school softball at Legends Way Ballfields this spring, Eustis sophomore pitcher Libby Levendoski emerged as one of the brightest the stars on the field.

"You have this feeling when you are pitching well — you feel on,” Levendoski said. “I just felt everything was working. All my pitches were moving right.

“When I stepped out to that field, I knew that this was going to be a great game. We won the championship game, and it was just a blast. It was awesome playing with those girls."

Levendoski said she knew at the start of the game that they had a good shot of winning the school's first state championship in softball. 

"It feels amazing, great to know that I made history with all of these girls,” she said. “It’s crazy."

She had complete control of the state final game against Hernando, striking out 17 batters en route to a complete-game shutout and a 5-0 victory for Eustis.

"When I was pitching, I really didn’t know that I was getting that many strikeouts,” Levendoski said. “As a pitcher, I just focused on one batter at a time, but at the end of the game, I just felt, ‘Wow I can’t believe I just did that.’ "

With two more years left in her high school career, Levendoski said she will take what she learned on the way to the state championship this year and use it to help her be a leader for next year's team. 

"Hey I’ve been there, I’ve done that, and I understand the process and I can help them work harder," she said.