Oxbridge joins Glades Day in state semifinals

VERO BEACH — State tournament newcomer Oxbridge Ac a d e my j o i n s v e t e r a n Glades Day at Historic Dodgertown today in the softball state semifinals.

Glades Day, which routed Lake Worth Christian 15-5 last Tuesday to earn a spot in the Class 2A state semifinals, will make its fifth trip to the state tournament in Sherri Paez’s 15 seasons as coach.

The Gators won one state title — in 2005 — and last reached the state tournament two years ago.

Oxbridge (26-2), which shut out defending st ate champion Fort Myers-Bishop Verot in a Class 4A regional final, will make its state tournament debut.

T h e y o u n g T h u n d e r - Wolves start three freshmen in the infield plus a freshman catcher, and their success this season caught second-year coach Kevin Drake by surprise.

“Our goal was to improve our win total and win a district championship,” said Drake, whose team finished 13-7-1 and advanced to the regional semifinals last season. “I was thinking maybe next year or the year after we would get to the state tournament. When you’re building a program, you don’t think it’ll come so fast.”

Paez, on the other hand, has spent more than a decade building the Gators’ softball program, and has had plenty of success to show for it.

This season, she prepared for a long postseason run by creating a challenging regular-season schedule that included plenty of games against bigger schools.

“We’ve played a tough schedule all year long, and I think that’s helped us this year to get to the final four again,” she said.

Both teams expect challenges today in their respective semifinals.

Glades Day (14-11), which rotates junior Jaylin Smith a n d s e n i o r G i n ny D o n n at pitcher, plays two-time defending state champion Monticello-Aucilla Christian in the first of two Class 2A state semifinals at 10:35 a.m.

The Warriors (16-8) return much of their starting lineup from last season, and are coming off a 16-2 rout of Jacksonville-Eagle’s View in the regional finals.

“I think it’s going to be a very tough game,” Paez said. “Aucilla was state champion last year. They seem to have everyone back. They have juniors and seniors, and quite a few travel players.”

Ac a d e my o f t h e H o l y Names a l s o wi l l pre s e nt a challenge for Oxbridge, w h i c h s h u t o u t i t s t wo regional opponents behind pitchers Caridad Estes — a freshman — and senior Lianna Mullins.

Oxbridge faces Holy Names in the second Class 4A semifinal game at 7:20 tonight.

The Ja g u a r s ( 15-7 ) outscored their t wo regional opponents by a combined 16-5, and have a standout pitcher in sophomore Gelmi Pasquier.

“T h e y ’ r e v e r y w e l l - c o a c h e d , ” D r a k e s a i d . “They’re a strong-hitting team, and they have a good defense. For us, it’s going to come down to our younger players and how they deal wit h bei ng i n t hi s at mosphere. This is the first time they’ve experienced this.”