Moran leads St. Brendan softball to semifinal win

Thanks to reliever Sophia Moran, the St. Brendan softball team edged American Heritage-Plantation 6-5 in a 4A region semifinal.

Trailing 6-1, the Patriots rallied with four runs in the fourth. Moran entered the game with two outs during that fourth inning to thwart the comeback effort and then pitch shutout ball the final two innings for the big save.

St. Brendan scored four times in the first and two more in the third to mount a 6-1 advantage.

St. Brendan softball coach Walter Acevedo said: “This is a huge win for our team. We are as good as any other top team in Florida.”

The Sabres (18-10) will have a chance to prove that against host Key West (18-3-1) in the region finals on Friday.

American HeritagePlantation ended its season 13-14-1.

In 7A, Western avenged its 2-0 district final loss to West Broward by beating the Bobcats in a rematch in a region semifinal, and 6A Cooper City walked off South Plantation. Also, Florida Christian (2A) and Palmetto (7A) won close battles.

REGION SOFTBALL SEMIFINALS

CLASS 4A

St. Brendan 6, American HeritagePlantation

● 5: Ashley Saud 3-3, BB, R; Brianna Masses-Valera 2-3; Marley Nielson 1-4; Isabella Fernandez 1-4; Alex Perea 2-4; WP Emily Barrera 3.2 IP, 5 R, 6 K; Save Sophia Moran 3.1 IP, 0 R.

Key West 11, Bonita Springs-Estero

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1: Isabella Perez 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 R, RBI; Miesha Hernandez 1-2, HR, BB, 3 R, 2 RBI; Chloe Knowles 2-3, 2 RBI; Madison Gonzalez 2-3, R, RBI; Scarlet Niles 1-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Marina Goins 1-3, 2 R; WP Chloe Gilday 5 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, K.

CLASS 3A

Coral Springs Charter 16, Westminster

● Christian 1: CSC: Stephanie Basso 3-3, 3 HR, 3 R, 8 RBI; Isabella Bertorelli 3-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI; Kaitlyn Matson 2-3, HR, R, 2 RBI; Taylor Golden 2-3, 2B, R; Brianna Godfrey 1-1, 3B, BB, 3 R; Heather Robertson 1-1, HR, BB, 3 R, RBI; WP Brianna Godfrey 3 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K.

WC: Cassandra Martinez 2-2, SB; Jules

Dyer 0-1, RBI; Jasmine Armenteros 0-0, BB, R.

Somerset Academy-Silver Palms 5,

●

SLAM 1: Tied at 1, the Stallions scored four times in the fifth. Jalyssa Heron 2-3, SB, R; Arlene Sordo 1-3, 3B, 2 RBI; Ava Stevens 1-2, BB, 2 SB, 2 R; Taylor Rebhan 1-3, SB, R, RBI; Gessy Hernandez 0-3, 2 RBI; WP Edan Playa 7 IP, CG, 1 R, 0 ER, 2

H, 1 BB, 11 K.

Coral Springs Charter (22-3) hosts Somerset Academy-Silver Palms (21-4) for the region title on Friday.

Westminster Christian ended its season 17-7. SLAM finished 20-7.

CLASS 2A

Florida Christian 2, Westminster

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Academy 0: The Patriots scored one in the first and added an insurance run in the sixth. Natalie Arce 2-3, HR, 2 SB, R, RBI; Fia Zelenka 1-3, SB, R; Samantha Zelenka 1-3, SB; WP Fia Zelenka 7 IP, CG, 0 R, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K.

Florida Christian (18-7) travels to Oxbridge Academy-West Palm Beach (22-1-1) for the region title on Friday.

CLASS 7A

Western 4, West Broward 1:

● The Wildcats scored once in the second, once in the fifth and twice in the sixth to build a 4-0 lead. West Broward scored its lone run in the bottom of the sixth. Megan Ramos 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Melanie Carr 1-2, 2 R; Ali Solo 0-3, BB, R; Alana Cypress 2-4, BB, SB, R; WP Ali Solo 7 IP, CG, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 8 K.

Palmetto 1, Monarch 0:

● The Panthers scored the winner in the bottom of the sixth. Ana Mendieta 1-3, RBI; Sophia Wylie 0-3, R; WP Melody Vizcaino 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 5 K.

Western (15-8-1) travels to Palmetto (19-10) for the region title on Friday.

West Broward ended its season 17-9-1. Monarch finished 14-11-1.

CLASS 6A

Cooper City 5, South Plantation 4 (8 ●

inn.): The visiting Paladins scored first with one in the first. Cooper City took a

2-1 lead with two in the third and added one in the fifth. Trailing 3-1, South Plantation scored three times in the top of the seventh to go ahead 4-3. The Cowboys scored in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings. Cooper City recorded the walk-off win with a run in the eighth.

CCty: Kirsten Caravaca 3-4, 2 2B, R, 3 RBI; Bianca Polistana 3-4, 2B, SF, 2 R,

RBI; Arlette Caravaca 1-4, BB, R; Daniella Nino 0-2, R; WP Jordyn Hustey 8 IP, 4 R, 3 ER, 8 H, 6 BB, 10 K. SP: Serena Holder

3-5, 2B, 2 R; Aleena Husein 2-4, BB, RBI; Sophia Naese 2-4, RBI; Reese Chesney 1-2, BB, SB, RBI; Yessenia Lopez 1-4, 2B, BB, RBI; Danielle Sigal 1-4, BB, R; P Yessenia Lopez 8 IP, 5 R, 3 ER, 9 H, 10 K.

Doral Academy 10, Fort Lauderdale

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0: DOR: Meagan Villazon 2-3, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI; Giovana Gurgel 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI; Ana Richiez 2-2, BB, 2 SB, RBI; Anabela Abdullah 1-3, 2B, BB, 3 R; Sarah Breaux 1-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI; WP Alyssa Zabala 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 10 K. FtL: Vanessa Gilbert 1-2, Kaleea Washington 1-2, 2B.

Cooper City (22-3) hosts Doral Academy (22-4-1) on Friday for the region title.

South Plantation ended its season 8-12-2. Fort Lauderdale finished 17-5.

CLASS 5A

Naples 4, Archbishop McCarthy 1:

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The Mavericks ended its season 13-6.

LASALLE SAILING

LaSalle sailing dominated the Team Racing SAISA District Championship at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. The Royal Lions earned a bid to the Team Racing Nationals in Houston for the first time in the school’s history.

Team racing is a combination of roller derby and bocce ball with the strategy of chess as a team of three boats races and utilizes play calls against another team of three boats to work their way around a race course with protests adjudicated by on-the-water umpires. The team with the lowest combined finishes wins that race.

This 3 vs. 3 racing format demands top-notch boat-handling skills, a command of the complex racing rules and quick thinking.

The SAISA district covers high schools from North Carolina to the Caribbean: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and the United States Virgin Islands.

LaSalle finished the regatta with just one loss (7-1). ILS skipper duties were filled by Justin Callahan, Mitchell Callahan, Danny Riano and Umi Noritake. Handling the grueling crew position were Caroline Caudron, Danny Riano, Jadin Gonzalez, Brianna Ross and Holland Ramos.

The victory solidifies ILS’s dominant position in the country’s most competitive SAISA sailing district.

The team will continue to train hard for nationals. LaSalle will first travel to the Baker Team Racing National Championship in Houston this weekend, followed by the Mallory Fleet Racing National Championship in San Diego on June 4-5.