Jupiter rallies past Boca, 6-3
Jupiter freshman first baseman Chrissy Fontaine hit a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth and the Warriors rallied late for a 6-3 victory against host Boca Raton in a Class 9A softball regional semifinal on Tuesday.
Jupiter advanced to the Class 9A regional final and will play the Western-Cypress Bay winner on Friday.
The Warriors reached the state semifinals last season.
The Warriors trailed 3-0 after four innings before pushing across two runs in the fifth. Megan McCants had a 14-pitch at-bat to set the tone for the comeback. Shelby Russo had an RBI single and Fontaine’s sacrifice fly cut the deficit to 3-2.
In the sixth, the Warriors had the bases loaded with one out. Freshman center fielder Hannah Cowley drew a walk to make it 3-3.
Fontaine stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs and delivered a base hit into center on a two-strike pitch to give the Warriors a 5-3 lead.
We kept battling and kept at it and did not quit,” Jupiter coach Steve Ahern said. “We believe in each other. We are a young team and Chrissy had a really big hit.”
Senior catcher Ashley Goebel had a sacrifice fly RBI in the seventh to help the Warriors extend the lead to 6-3.
Warriors sophomore pitcher Marisa Mellone pitched a complete game and struck out six in the victory.
Sierra Cochran opened the scoring with an RBI single in the third and Emma Morgan also had an RBI single to give the Bobcats a 2-0 lead. The Bobcats made it 3-0 after a Warriors error in the fourth.
CORAL SPRINGS CHARTER 11, CARDINAL GIBBONS 0: The host Panthers hit four home runs and Emily Estroff pitched a one-hitter with 12 strikeouts and as they rolled past the Chiefs in the Class 5A Region 4 semifinals at Betti Stradling Park.
Coral Springs Charter (27-2) advanced to face the winner of Gulliver Prep/ Key West in the Regional 4 final on Friday at 7 p.m.
Sara Berthiaume, who was 3 for 4, hit her first home run of the season — a two-run shot in the fifth — to end the game by run rule.
Shannon Doherty hit a solo home run in the first, Alyssa Laboy hit one in the second and Cassidy Crump hit a two-run shot in the fourth. Laboy finished 3-for-3 with three RBI.
“We had to prepare for slow pitching, which is not easy to do,” said Coral Springs Charter coach Mark Montimurro. “We had to change our approach a little bit, track the ball a little deeper in the zone and try to hit the ball up the middle and not get into bad habits. I was pleased with our offense overall, we are going to need it on Friday.”
Estroff had a perfect game through four with 11 strikeouts, but pinch-hitter Jordan White blooped a ball over the infield for the Chiefs’ only hit. Laboy dove for the ball and got a glove on it, but couldn’t hold on.
“It’s win or go home, so we know we had to keep winning,” said Estroff, who started the game with nine consecutive strikeouts. “Our goal this season has been to get to the state tournament and this is one step closer to that.”
COOPER CITY 15, NOVA 0: Jasmin Herrera and Bridgette Tuxbury each drove in three runs as the host Cowboys routed the Titans in a Class 8A regional semifinal.
The Cowboys (22-5) advance to Friday’s regional final where they will travel to face St. Thomas Aquinas.
After hitting into double plays to end the first two innings, the Cowboys erupted with a seven-run third.
Cooper City batted around with Amanda Gettys going 2 for 2 in the frame with a double and a pair of RBI. Michelle Adelman also drove in a run with a triple.
“I think that second time through the lineup was really beneficial for us,” Cowboys coach Phil Schmalz said. “We got our timing down better and we were obviously seeing the ball really well. We had some solid hits and even the not-so-solid hits had some quality in the at bat.”
Cooper City then went one better in the following inning, scoring eight times before the game was called. Herrera and Rebeka Ehrenthal each doubled in the inning.
Herrera, who also pitched, finished 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. On the bump, Herrera (14-3) allowed just one Nova (15-9) hit and struck out five.