An Angel On Their Shoulders
by George Diaz
How do you play a season with a collective broken heart?
The answer for the Winter Springs girls’ softball team can be captured in two words: pain and resilience.
The pain involved the tragic loss of teammate Kennedy Jackson, who passed away in October 2025. The resilience involved the team’s determination to honor her by winning a state title for the second consecutive year.
The players’ championship journey wrapped up in May, when the Winter Springs Bears defeated Niceville High School 6-0 in the FHSAA Class 5A title game. As the girls celebrated, they held Kennedy’s No. 22 jersey up high.
“The tragedy of losing a player made this ride and what we went through this season so much more personal,” says Coach Farrah Gordon. “It brought the kids together more as people, rather than just softball players.”
Making History
It wasn’t just an emotional run. It was a historic one.
The Bears became the first Orlando-area fastpitch softball team to repeat as champions since West Orange High School did the same in 2016 and 2017. Winter Springs also won a state title in 2019.
The team’s latest title, coupled with Hagerty High School’s Class 7A state win, also marked the first time two Seminole County teams have won FHSAA championships in the same year.
However, this year’s championship win hit differently for Winter Springs because of Kennedy’s absence. Coach Gordon and her players leaned on each other, while also honoring their fallen teammate.
“We turned her locker into a memorial,” says Adison Pierce, a third baseman who graduated in May. “We had her jersey, a picture of her, and some candles. And we just talked about her a lot and things she would say. One of our quotes we had from her was, ‘Eat light, stay hungry.’ We’d say that a lot. And there’s also a memorial outside our field on a tree for her.”
You Should Be Here
Kennedy, a starter at first base as a freshman last year, was revered by her teammates. Coach Gordon, her staff, and the players drew on Kennedy’s memory and energy during the regular season and beyond.
“It was just magical and special,” Coach Gordon told reporters after the title game. “We’re human, and just being there for each other, I think that’s what makes it so special. We also had Kennedy as our guardian angel.”
Making the Bears’ championship run even more impressive: They shut out all their opponents, with a 71-0 run over the course of seven playoff games. The final game featured a run in the fourth inning to get things going, a two-run home run in the fifth inning from right fielder Abigail Hooper, followed by more offensive fireworks in the sixth inning.
Adison – who went three for four in the game – hit a double in the sixth inning and eventually scored following a sacrifice fly by first baseman Madison Barahona and a sacrifice bunt by pinch hitter Bella Reed. Two more runs came in, giving the Bears a comfortable cushion.
The win would have been perfect if Kennedy had been on the field and in the dugout along with her teammates.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about her. I just kept thinking she should be here,” says Coach Gordon, who stepped down in June to focus on her own family. “We were excited, but our hearts were hurting
because she wasn’t there. But I definitely think she was looking out for us.”
Coach Gordon leaves the softball program with an impressive legacy that includes a 115-57 record during her six seasons at Winter Springs, three district championships, three regional championships, a state runner-up finish, and two state championships.