Two seven-run innings fueled a breakout 17-3 win for the Middleburg High softball team against Tallahassee Lincoln in the regional 1-5A quarterfinal held on Thursday, May 7 in Tallahassee.

The Broncos, with a 13-15 won-loss record compared to Lincoln's 19-8 record, seemed undeterred with the records disparity as the Broncos' strength of schedule rating of 18.9; ranked just behind top-ranked Chiles, 21-7 with a 19.7 strength of schedule.
With the win, Middleburg returned to Tallahassee on Wednesday to play Chiles for the region semifinal title on Wednesday, May 13, and a chance of two consecutive pseudo upsets.
Middleburg's schedule included teams like Trenton (which is playing Williston in Rural class region finals); Baldwin (which is in the 2A semifinals against Episcopal), Yulee and Wakulla (which are playing against each other in the 3A region semifinals) and a 3-1 upset loss to Orange Park in their district semifinal.
Against Lincoln, Middleburg held a 3-2 lead after two innings off a two-run double by Ariany Reynoso and an RBI single from Mallory Ficklin which held to the fifth.
In the fifth, the Broncos had a handful of one base opportunities combined with a three-run double from Rylee Patterson to jolt the game to a 10-2 score.
In the seventh, Karleigh Sanford got two at bats and made the most with an RBI double and a sacrifice fly RBI to put the game away at 17-3.
Sanford also went the distance on the mound with just two strikeouts but great defensive plays behind her.
Chiles, seeded second, advanced with a 7-2 win over Milton. Middleburg is seeded sixth.
Around the county, the runs were not enough as Fleming Island lost a 3-0 contest to top seed Niceville in 5A; Clay lost 2-1 to Arnold in a 4A regional; and Keystone Heights lost 7-0 to second-seeded Montverde Academy in 2A.

In 1A, St. Johns Country Day School lost a 12-2 regional to Christ's Church Academy in the fourth meeting of the two teams.