- June 21, 2025
The Pirates celebrate their win over Middleburg in the Region 1-5A semifinals. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas first baseman Ashley Sampselle drive a liner to shortstop in the bottom of the sixth inning against Middleburg. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Pirates celebrate their win over Middleburg in the Region 1-5A semifinals. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Leah Stevens (22) hugs Middleburg first baseman Kerra Clarida after the game. The two played travel ball together last summer. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Middleburg pitcher Lily Bennett allowed two runs in 7.1 innings and struck out 11 batters. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Leah Stevens throws a pitch with an extra-inning "ghost runner" on second base in the eighth. Stevens struck out all three batters she faced in the inning. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas senior Leah Stevens pitched a no-hitter in the Pirates' 1-0 win over Ponte Vedra in a regional quarterfinal playoff game on May 8. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Leah Stevens struck out 17 batters in the Pirates' 1-0 win against Ponte Vedra in the Region 1-5A quarterfinals on May 8. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas center fielder McKenzie Manhart takes a pitch for a ball against Ponte Vedra in a regional quarterfinal game on May 8 at the Pirates' field. Photo by Brent Woronoff
The Pirates celebrate their 1-0 win over Ponte Vedra on May 8 to advance to the Region 1-5A semifinals against Middleburg. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Matanzas right fielder Addison Rio (20) runs in from right field to congratulate Leah Stevens (center) on her no-hitter. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Ponte Vedra pitcher Taylor Scribner did not give up a hit until the third inning and then allowed just one runner to score. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Ponte Vedra pitcher Taylor Scribner allowed one run in seven innings. Photo by Brent Woronoff
Leah Stevens outdid herself again.
Five days after she threw a no-hitter against Ponte Vedra, the senior hit a walk-off double in the eighth inning to lift Matanzas to a 2-1 victory over Middleburg in a Region 1-5A softball semifinals on Tuesday, May 13, at the Pirates’ field.
Thanks to Stevens’ heroics in the pitching circle and at the plate, the Pirates are headed to the regional finals for the first time in school history.
“She just makes things happen. She just has the will to win,” Matanzas softball coach Sabrina Manhart said. “She’ll win it pitching or she’ll win it at the plate. She’s a special player.”
She did both against the Broncos.
She hit a line-drive home run over the center field fence in the first inning to give Matanzas (23-1) a 1-0 lead. After the Broncos (19-9) tied it with an unearned run in the fourth, Stevens took matters into her own hands in the bottom of the eighth. She drove Lily Bennett’s pitch to right center field to score McKenzie Manhart — the extra-inning ghost runner — from second base.
“I always go for the big goal,” Stevens said.
The Pirates will travel to Niceville on Thursday, May 15, for a chance to advance to the state final four.
Stevens is batting .517 but she’s only had 29 at-bats this season. She’s made the most of her opportunities, driving in 12 runs. After she connected in the eighth, she pointed at the ball.
“I knew it was deep enough,” she said. “I don’t think I’m a very sophisticated hitter. If it’s in the zone, I put the barrel to the ball.”
She was stellar in the pitching circle again, allowing only two hits and no walks in eight innings and striking out 19 of the 26 batters she faced.
“I was super loose,” Stevens said. “I felt I was really in rhythm tonight.”
“She wanted to continue playing this season,” Manhart said. “She’s not done.”
Leah Stevens felt like she couldn’t afford to make a mistake. So she didn’t.
Stevens pitched a complete-game no-hitter, striking out 17 batters including 10 in a row from the third through sixth innings as Matanzas defeated Ponte Vedra 1-0 in a Region 1-5A quarterfinal Thursday, May 8, at the Pirates’ field.
“At this point in the season, little mistakes can determine the outcome of the game,” Stevens said.
Matanzas sophomore Ava Henige smacked a two-out double to center field to score Juliet Fogel in the fourth inning for the only run of the game. That was all Stevens needed as the Pirates (22-1) advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time since 2021.
Matanzas will host Middleburg (19-8) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13. Middleburg advanced with a 5-1 win over Milton. With a win over the Middleburg, the Pirates would advance to the regional finals for the first time in school history. Stevens is looking forward to facing the Broncos.
“I know some of their players from travel ball,” she said. “They have a lot of good players.”
A no-hitter for Stevens is almost not even noteworthy anymore. This was the senior’s third no-hitter of the season. She also pitched six innings of a no-hit ball against Atlantic Coast when she left the game after 5 innings with a 3-0 lead and returned in the seventh to secure the 3-1 win.
Stevens has pitched seven no-hitters, including three perfect games, during her three seasons. With the win, she improved to 16-0 this season and lowered her earned run average to 0.37. She has allowed five earned runs and has struck out 221 batters in 94.2 innings.
Stevens struck out every batter in the Ponte Vedra lineup at least once. She struck out six batters twice and one batter three times. She walked one batter early ending her chances for her second perfect game this season. Only three of the 21 batters she faced put the ball in play, and her fielders got the out each time.
Matanzas head coach Sabrina Manhart said Stevens is harder to hit against in the later innings.
“As the outs start to get limited, she zones in like no other player,” Manhart said.
Stevens said she felt like she did a good job keeping the Sharks batters off-balanced.
“As they see me (in subsequent at bats), they have more information,” Stevens said. “But I have multiple tools for that reason. I know I can make my spin work in different locations. I can get a strike on a curve, throw a different pitch and then maybe throw the curve again but move it farther out. People are going to eventually hit you, so you have to keep mixing it up.”
The Pirates had defeated Ponte Vedra (14-11) a week earlier in the district championship game, 12-1 in five innings.
This game was different. Ponte Vedra pitcher Taylor Scribner gave up seven hits and walked six but got help from her fielders to keep the Sharks in the game. Catcher Emma Shin threw out two runners attempting to steal. Another Pirates base runner got caught in a rundown. Matanzas left nine runners on base including runners on second and third in the fifth and sixth innings.
“We were trying to run our normal aggressive base-running game,” Manhart said. “But we were running into outs.”
Henige, the Pirates’ designated player, drove in Juliet Fogel, who had hit a bloop single and was sacrificed to second by her sister, Ruby Fogel.
“Ava hit the heck out of the ball,” Manhart said. “She said, ‘Two outs, so what?’ She gets better every inning she plays.”
The 1-0 victory may not look impressive from an offensive perspective, but with Stevens on the mound the Pirates may not need much more than that.
“Winning by one run is as good as winning by the run rule,” Stevens said.
