DELTONA — Trinity Christian softball coach Bridget Toman admits she didn't know she was going to field a varsity team until the final day of tryouts. A little more than three months later, on Thursday night, the Eagles will compete in the first round of the Class 2A tournament.
More than 30 girls attended those tryouts in late January; numbers were not the issue. Toman simply wanted to make sure she had enough varsity-caliber athletes on the diamond to be competitive.
"(Assistant coach) Scott (McDermott) sat down and said, 'We've got this. We have a varsity team that we think we can go out there and do something with,'" Toman said. "It was going to be exciting to see what happened."
It's the first time Trinity has fielded a varsity softball team since 2014. The Eagles enter their regional semifinal against Vero Beach Master's Academy with a 15-3 record, ranked No. 7 in the final Miracle Sports Class 2A poll.
Last season, the school had a 19-player junior varsity squad which won four of its 13 games.
Senior catcher McKenzie Wood, who transferred from Taylor last year, can hardly believe the success the Eagles have enjoyed.
"There wasn't a hope to be at districts and be as far as we are. That was not even a thought," Wood said.
"At the beginning of the year, it was more like, 'Well, we have enough for a team. So let's get (everyone) out here and work as hard as we can and win a couple games.'"
Toman, on the other hand, firmly thought her team stood a chance the second it took the field. Sure enough, the Eagles opened the year with a six-game winning streak, outscoring its opponents 55-13.
The team received a big boost from one of its youngest players. Sixth-grader Nikki McDermott, who is the assistant coach's daughter and Wood's half-sister, has the Eagles' top batting average (.547 in 61 plate appearances). The youngster is also the No. 1 pitcher, going 13-3 with a 1.19 ERA and 146 strikeouts in 94 innings.
"Striking (batters) out is funny, watching them get mad that a little girl struck them out," said McDermott, who started the sport at age 3 and plays travel ball for Central Florida-based Atlanta Vipers 04 McDermott.
In the rare instances in which McDermott has found trouble in the circle, she relies upon the calming presence of Wood.
"I love being able to pitch to her. If I'm having a bad attitude, she'll come tell me that I'm fine and doing OK. It really encourages me," McDermott said.
Wood added: "I think the pitcher-catcher, sister-sister duo works really well. We're always with each other. I know what she throws; I've been going to her pitching lessons since she was 8 years old, so I know what's coming. For her to be able to pitch as a sixth-grader, it's a big thing for us. Getting to spend my senior year with her made the dynamic all that more exciting."
Toman relies heavily on her trio of seniors as well. Wood is hitting .453 with a team-high two home runs, 30 stolen bases and 28 runs scored. Erica Ortiz (.449, 14 RBIs) has developed a knack for clutch hits and Aubrey Myers is regarded as the group's spiritual leader.
Trinity's quest toward the playoffs culminated with a 10-3 win over Winter Park Geneva School in the district semifinals on Monday, resulting in automatic qualification.
As the final out was recorded, Toman struggled to find the words to sum up her emotions.
"I had never been so proud of a group of girls as I was at that moment," Toman said. "We blew it open in the sixth inning, and we knew, 'This is. We're going to the region semifinals. This is really going to happen.'"