Amanda Kopale came out with a different game face Thursday night.

Her Seminoles faced elimination against the undefeated Tigers in the Cape Coral Little League senior softball tournament at Burton Park, and the fight for survival was evident in Kopale’s demeanor from the start of the game.

Gone were the lax warm-ups, pre-game trips to the concession stand, and chats during the game. Kopale and her teammates were more focused than ever and handed the Tigers their first loss of the season 5-4 after losing to the Tigers 6-1 in their earlier meeting in the tournament.

“We knew it was coming close to the championship, and we decided we had to come together and play,” said Kopale. “We were good all season. We just picked it up a little bit, played harder.”

The Seminoles beat the Cardinals 15-3 in the loser’s bracket final Wednesday night to earn the trip to the championship. Being a double-elimination tournament, the teams go at it again Friday night with the winner taking the crown.

With Kopale leading the way, going 4-for-4, the Seminoles won in dramatic fashion.

With the Tigers holding a comfortable 3-0 lead going into the sixth inning, the Seminoles had to find a way to break Tigers’ ace Dana Ruff if they were going to force Friday’s championship rematch.

“We knew we could do it, if we played our hardest,” said Kopale. “We just kept that in mind.”

Kopale started the rally with a single to left field. Darienne Boyden followed suit with a double to left, and Amanda Hurley brought both runners home with a blooper just over the first baseman’s head. The blooper took a hard bounce that placed the ball at the edge of the fence giving Hurley a chance to reach third.

Ashton Gahles brought home the tying run with a hard-hit grounder the shortstop couldn’t handle. Ruff regained her composure and came up with three quick outs, but the Seminoles had found their confidence and came through in the final inning.

In the seventh, Kopale’s two-out blooper to center field ignited the Seminoles’ comeback. Boyden kept the inning alive with a single to right and Kopale’s speed brought her to third. An off-target throw from the outfielder gave Kopale the chance to sprint home for the go-ahead run.

Hurley added an insurance run with a single to left field that gave the Seminoles a 5-3 edge.

With the Tigers’ undefeated season in jeopardy, they had to score two runs in the seventh to force extra innings, but came up one run short on Taylor Wiles’ two-out double to left.

“I think we can (beat them again),”said Kopale.



Seminoles 000 003 2 — 5 9 1

Tigers 000 210 1 — 4 9 2

W — Boyden. L — Ruff.

2B — Kopale (Seminoles), Gahles (Seminoles), Boyden (Seminoles), Wiles (Tigers)



At Jason Verdow Park Thursday night, the Reds were crowned champions of the Cape Coral National minor baseball division after beating the Rockies 9-6 in the tournament final.

The Reds plowed through the winner’s bracket, taking two games by shutout (10-0 and 5-0) and wrapping it up with Thursday’s victory.

In the major baseball division, the Cardinals downed the Cubs 4-3 in eight innings in the loser’s bracket final to advance to the championship game. The Cards will take on the Brewers in the title game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. If a second championship game is necessary, it will be played Wednesday.

Three teams are left in the rookie baseball tournament after the Braves beat the Giants 11-0 in loser’s bracket play. The Braves take on the Phillies in the loser’s bracket final at 6 p.m. Tuesday. The winner advances to the championship game Wednesday against the Brewers.



Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.