Winter Springs Bears Claw Back, Win Florida 5A Softball Title Over Niceville

After a bitter loss last year, the Bears, led by sophomore star Tiffany Seemann, edge Niceville 4-3 in a thrilling state championship showdown at Longwood

Winter Springs' softball team celebrates beating Niceville, 4-3, for the Class 5A state championship on Saturday in Longwood. It is the Bears' first title since 2019. / Winter Springs softball

Winter Springs players never forgot last year’s brutal six-hour road trip to play Niceville in last year’s Florida Class 6A regional softball quarterfinals. The Bears lost 8-2.

Fast forward to 2025 and these same two teams met again, but this time for all the marbles in the Class 5A state championship game at Longwood’s Boombah-Soldiers Creek on Saturday.

“We have some unfinished business with Niceville since they beat us last year on their turf,” Winter Springs sophomore catcher/first baseman/outfielder Abi Hooper said before the game.

The Bears (24-8) took care of business in their biggest game of the year, getting another solid pitching performance from sophomore star Tiffany Seemann, and just enough offense to topple top-seeded Niceville, 4-3, before an excited crowd of Winter Springs fans, who enjoyed a nice homefield advantage. Winter Springs is just an 8-minute drive from Boombah-Soldiers Creek.

“I knew it was going to be a close game,” Seemann said. “But we wanted it so bad I had a strong feeling that this time it would be a different outcome in our favor.”

Winter Springs knocked off top-seeded Niceville, 4-3, to win the Class 5A state championship. / Winter Springs softball

“We did it!,” exclaimed Hooper on the social media platform, X.

Winter Springs took command early, taking a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Seemann helped her own cause by singling and then scoring on a passed ball. Alondra Maldonado scored on an error for the Bears.

The Bears then added two more runs in the top of the fourth inning to surge ahead, 4-0.

Seemann’s sacrifice scored Kennedy Jackson, who had reached on a single, and Bella Reed scored on an error.

But Niceville (22-7) didn’t give up.

The Eagles countered with a run in the bottom of the fourth inning when junior Krissa Troutman scored on a fielder’s choice, and then added two more runs in the fifth to cut their deficit to one, 4-3.

Sophomore Briana Noles doubled in Quinn Graham, and then scored on a single by Chloe Bailey for Niceville in the fifth. Noles finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and one RBI to lead the Eagles.

Seeman and the Bears’ defense then held on during the final two innings, setting off a wild celebration after Niceville grounded out to end the game.

Bailey finished with a five-hitter, striking out eight. Seemann surpassed 200 strikeouts for her career this season.

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