Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Coral Springs Charter advances to semifinal
MIAMI — Ally Muraskin remembers making the magical run to Coral Springs Charter’s first state championship in 2015 like it was yesterday.
Fast forward two years and her time as a high school pitcher is nearly over, but the same hunger remains — this time, the All-State senior is looking to complete a three-peat and go out on top.
Muraskin and Florida’s top-ranked Panthers got another step closer on Friday. Striking out 13 batters, Muraskin led Coral Springs Charter to a 3-1 Region 4-5A final victory at Miami Gulliver Prep.
The Panthers (28-1) will face Friday night’s WaltonBaker County winner in a state semifinal on May 19 in Vero Beach’s Historic Dodgertown. At press time, that regional final was in a weather delay.
“She’s starting to smell it now,” Coral Springs Charter coach Mark Montimurro said of Muraskin, who’s signed to UCF. “She’s feeling that she has two games left, hopefully, and she wants to go out as maybe the most celebrated pitcher in Broward County history.”
Muraskin, on the Gatorade and MaxPreps National Player of the Year watch lists, surrendered one run – a solo homer against Gulliver’s CiCi Castillo in the second inning – on five hits in her complete-game effort. Twelve of her 13 punchouts came after the home run and she retired 15 of the last 17 batters she faced.
“I just kept thinking, ‘Don’t let this be your last game with all the teammates that you’ve worked so hard with – blood, sweat and tears,’” said Muraskin.
She also went 2-for-3 at the plate and made a key diving play with an acrobatic flip to first for the out in the fifth.
Amanda Flynn’s tworun double in the top of the second gave CSC an early 3-0 lead. In the first, cleanup-hitting shortstop Lindsay Garcia drilled an RBI double down the left-field line for the Panthers’ first score.
— David Furones
JUPITER 5, DOUGLAS 4: Down to its final three outs, Jupiter wasn’t ready to let its dream season end.
Facing a 4-2 deficit versus Douglas in the Class 9A regional finals, the Warriors mounted a 7th-inning comeback. After RBI singles from Megan McCants and Ashley Goebel tied the game 4-4, Bailey Phillips put the exclamation point on Jupiter’s rally, lacing the game-winning single to right to give the Warriors’ the win and send the team to states.
“I stayed calm when I had two strikes,” said Phillip’s recalling the winning hit. “I kind of knew she was going to pitch me a change-up because she had been throwing them all night. So I just sat back and drove it.”
“When I was going down the line, I was just getting ready to jump when I touched first base.”
Jupiter will face Palm Harbor University on Friday night in the Class 9A state semifinals at Vero Beach’s Historic Dodgertown.
On Friday night, Jupiter jumped out to a quick 2-1 lead in the first inning after RBI’s from Goebel and Phillips. The Eagles tied the game in the second inning and later took a 4-2 lead in the fourth inning on the back of hits from Jordan Ratner and Monique Potiven.
Phillips led the Warriors at the plate, finishing 2-4 with 2 RBI’s. Senior leadoff hitter Rachel Frankhauser went 2-4, including an infield single in the bottom of the 7th to help spark the team’s rally.
— Wells Dusenbury
ST. THOMAS AQUINAS 4, COOPER CITY 3: St. Thomas Aquinas ended Cooper City’s season again and for the fifth straight year will head to states.
Visiting St. Thomas (20-9) scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning and then held off a comeback bid by the Cowboys to pull out the Region 4-8A final victory.
The Raiders struck for three runs in the 10th with two outs as Kristen Sacca drilled an 0-2 pitch off the left field fence to score Lauren Stansell with the go-ahead run. Lindsay Gehring then hit a monster home run over the right center field fence for a 4-1 lead. It was her eighth home run of the season.
Cooper City (20-8) battled back in its half of the inning on two-out RBI singles by 11 and 3, but St. Thomas Aquinas pulled out the win when Raider’s pitcher Gabby Nori got out of the jam with the tying run on third when she got 24 to pop out.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our kids,” said St. Thomas Aquinas coach Brian Baucom, whose team blanked Cooper City last year 5-0 in the regional final. “It is a young team that has grown up tremendously the past few weeks.”
St. Thomas will face Wellington in the state semifinal on May 20 at 5:20 p.m.
— Gary Curreri