Aiming for five straight titles
Coral Springs Charter looking tie Bartow for all-time state mark to
Coral Springs Charter has an opportunity to accomplish a feat only one other softball team has been able to achieve in the state of Florida — win five consecutive state titles.
Last season, the Panthers won their fourth consecutive championship by defeating West Nassau 4-1 in Class 5A title game.
Bartow holds the state lead with five consecutive championships, while Charter, Gulliver Prep and Naples have won four straight.
The Panthers finished the season with a 30-2 record and were named the No. 1 team in the state by MaxPreps.
Infielder Lindsey Garcia and outfielder Sara Berthiaume enter their senior seasons with a chance to become the first two players in Florida history to win five consecutive titles.
Garcia, who was named the 2018 Sun Sentinel’s Broward County small schools player of the year, hit third in the Panthers’ lineup last season and managed to record a .544 batting average, 10 home runs, 48 runs, 42 RBI and 14 stolen bases.
Berthiaume held the leadoff spot for Coral Springs Charter and was able to hit .505, record 43 runs and 27 RBI while also stealing a team-high 16 bases.
Pitcher Emily Estroff graduated from the team last season and will leave a void for the Panthers to fill.
Estroff, now a Villanova freshman, took over for three-time Player of the Year Ally Muraskin and led the pitching staff with a 28-2 record along with a 1.32 ERA and 201 strikeouts.
Junior Cassidy Crump will return as the most experienced pitcher on the roster with her having appeared in 14 games last season. She secured a 2-0 record while she posted a 2.07 ERA and 33 strikeouts.
Behind the efforts of pitching ace Eliza Gonzalez, Pembroke Pines Charter raised their third state championship in program history.
Gonzalez helped lead the Panthers to a 26-5 record along with their first state title since 2014. She did so as the Jaguars leading pitcher and one of their best batters.
The senior was the Sun Sentinel’s Broward largeschools Player of the Year last season after she went 12-4 with a 1.63 ERA and 83 strikeouts. As the team’s third batter, she also led the team with 29 RBI and was tied for the team-high in home runs with three.
“We’re an experienced team, and Eliza [Gonzalez] is just one of our talented seniors,” said Pembroke Pines Charter coach Tom Fadul. “We just need to stay focused and just be ready to peak at the right time.”
Outfielder Malarie Busha and infielder Karley Borges are among the Jaguars’ gifted seniors with them having finished last season as two of the best batters on the team.
As one of the team captains for the past two years, Busha posted a .426 batting average while collecting 27 hits, 16 runs and 16 RBI.
Borges batted .397 as she also recorded 25 hits and 19 RBI.
Junior outfielder and lead-off batter Erika Andal will also be among the Panthers’ hitting core with her looking to build off her stellar sophomore season. Andal hit .512 as well as recorded 34 runs and 40 hits.
The Western Wildcats earned their first state championship last season as they defeated West Orange 7-0 in the Class 9A state title game.
Under the coaching of Jeffrey Poole, the Wildcats went 22-7 and made their second state appearance in three seasons as the District 12-9A runner-ups.
Western managed to reach the title game after
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■ March 15-16: April 4-6: April 15-18: April 29-May 4: May 8:
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May 14: May 17: May 21-24: stringing together postseason victories against Stoneman Douglas, Cypress Bay and Jupiter before defeating Miami Coral Reef 2-1 in the state semifinals.
“This team didn’t have any quit in them. The regional final and the state semifinal were both onerun games. Our game against Jupiter was also a 13-inning game so it just kind of shows our toughness,” Poole said. “This is a confident group of girls who I believe will thrive behind their experience.”
Senior outfielder Sydney Tedim batted leadoff for the Wildcats last season and finished the year with a .489 batting average along with 30 runs, 14 stolen bases and a pair of home runs.
Tedim also displayed fine defensive skills as she collected 40 putouts on 47 chances with only one error.
As the Wildcats’ ace, Jada Oleski had a 13-5 record and a 2.41 ERA during her sophomore season. She also recorded four shutouts in the 20 appearances she made.
American Heritage beat Land O’Lakes 5-1 in the 6A state title game to earn their eight state championship in program history.
The Patriots avenged their 2017 state championship loss to Land O’Lakes behind the remarkable pitching performance of Julia Grobman.
Grobman retired 19 of the final 21 batters she faced and with the help of her defense held the Gators to just one run.
“It’s always an intense rivalry,” said American Heritage coach Marty Cooper. “You know winning has to be learned in my mind and with the way the girls played last year, I believe our momentum will carry over.”
Pitcher Amelia Saviskas will pair with Grobman in the circle with her having posted a 13-7 record and a 2.19 ERA during her junior season. In their regional final against Rockledge, Saviskas retired seven of the 10 batters to help the Patriots reach states.
Senior Katherine Rodriguez was the hitting catalyst for the Patriots in 2018 as she hit a team-high .557 while batting third in the lineup.
Rodriguez also orchestrated clutch moments against Land O’Lakes in the state title game with her recording two hits and an RBI to lead the way over the Gators.
The Patriots ended year with a 21-8 record.
Oxbridge Academy aims the to rebound and reach states yet again after falling to Westminster Christian two years in a row.
Last season, the ThunderWolves went 21-6 and undefeated against Palm Beach County opponents until they were edged out 2-1 by the Warriors in the semifinals.
“We’re hungry. You know after ending the last two seasons, not the way we wanted to, I think we’re set up to make another potential state run,” said Oxbridge Academy coach Kevin Drake.
Junior Josie Foreman helped fuel Oxbridge Academy to the semifinals last season behind her .551 batting average and 40 recorded runs.
Foreman, who was the Sun Sentinel’s Palm Beach Class 6A-1A Player of the Year, showed her ability to perform in big moments as she finished the Class 5A regional final against Bishop Verot going two for four with a solo home run.
The ThunderWolves will return most of their roster from a season ago with the team only having graduated one senior.
Other Players to Watch
Broward: OF Michelle Adelman, Cooper City; C Samantha Albert, West Broward; INF Madison Bradshaw, Western; INF Chelsea Brown, St. Thomas Aquinas; C Janai Conklin, American Heritage; INF Bianca Cristafaro, Western; INF Shannon Doherty, Coral Springs Charter; P/INF Brianna Godfrey, Coral Springs Charter; UT Jasmin Herrera, Cooper City; INF Emma Hoffman, Westminster Academy; OF Analyse Jimenez, American Heritage; P Kaitlin King, St. Thomas Aquinas; C Jillian Kuntze, Cypress Bay; INF Brenna Lokeinsky, Cooper City; OF Macey Melinek, South Plantation; INF Jeritza Montero, Pompano Beach; P Lexine Packer, Cypress Bay; OF Sydney Pappas, Western; INF Angelina Pascual, Pembroke Pines Charter; INF Meagan Patterson, St. Thomas Aquinas; INF Jordan Ratner, Stoneman Douglas; INF Sammi Restrepo, Pine Crest; OF Jeandelyn Rodriguez, West Broward; UT Maddie Russo, Pompano Beach; INF Kristen Sacca, St. Thomas Aquinas; INF Caylee Seda, ChaminadeMadonna; INF Alex Simon, ChaminadeMadonna; OF Grace Sullivan, Cypress Bay; OF Kelly Torres, American Heritage;
Palm Beach: OF Kendall Baer, Jupiter; INF Brooke Barnard, Palm Beach Gardens; OF Lexi Butler, Wellington; INF Alexa Chaplin, American Heritage-Delray; OF Brianna Clary, Palm Beach Gardens; P Alex Cohen, Benjamin; OF Kaitlyn Cunningham, Olympic Heights; INF Madalynn Davis, Oxbridge Academy; INF Tatiana Davis, Oxbridge Academy; OF Allyson Deaton, Glades Day; OF Katie Desimone, Wellington; C Mareta Eberhardt, King’s Academy; INF Caridad Estes, Oxbridge Academy; INF Jillian Estevez, Royal Palm Beach; INF Hannah Federico, King’s Academy; P Megan Froehlich, Seminole Ridge; OF Ariel Girardi, Oxbridge Academy; INF Casey Goguts, Dwyer; OF Nicole Hayslip, Royal Palm Beach; P Tyrina Jones, Park Vista; OF Helena Klimkiewicz, American Heritage-Delray; OF Sarah Longley, Wellington; INF Margot McFadden, King’s Academy; P Marisa Mellone, Jupiter; INF Alexis Mobilia, Wellington; INF Katie Moral, Lake Worth Christian; INF Chloe Nadler, American Heritage-Delray; INF Emilee Perkins, Glades Day; P Sarah Polack, Cardinal Newman; P Madison Prickett, Seminole Ridge; P Katelyn Robine, Palm Beach Gardens; C Brooke Santiago, Lake Worth Christian; OF Lily Schliefer, American Heritage-Delray; OF Jules Schumacher, Park Vista; P Alexis Swearingen, Suncoast; INF Samantha Sweeney, Benjamin; P Alina Varga, West Boca Raton; P Jena Whipple, Oxbridge Academy; P Jordan Winters, King’s Academy.