John Carroll Catholic, Treasure Coast softball fall a game short of Final Four

The excitement of a late game-tying home run quickly faded for the John Carroll Catholic softball team Friday as Westminster Academy struck for five runs in the eighth inning to knock out the Rams from the postseason with an 11-6 victory in the Region 2-4A championship game.

Freshman Sophia Loreto came up with her biggest hit of her young career, blasting a three-run homer to left center field that tied the game at six in the bottom of the sixth for John Carroll.

Two innings later, Loreto could only watch as the Lions strung together four extra-base hits after battling all day in the circle to give herself and her team a chance to win.

"For her to hit that shot, at this stage when we were down and we needed, it was huge," Rams head coach Rico Rosado said. "But we ended up coming up short and it happens."

The Lions (17-11) scored three runs, all coming with two outs in the top of the first inning to give them a 3-0 lead.

John Carroll senior Julia Schrot put her team on the board with a two-out RBI single to center in the home half to cut the margin to 3-1.

In the third, the Rams (11-10) mounted a rally and thanks to a sacrifice fly from Schrot and an RBI single from Kathryn French, the game was tied at 3-3.

The Lions grabbed the lead back in the fourth as an RBI double from Tori Barber and a sacrifice fly from Kamryn Casey put Westminster Academy back ahead 5-3.

Loreto allowed another run in the sixth, but escaped by turning a line drive hit back to her into an inning-ending double play that set up her heroics shortly after.

Bridget Guettler led off the sixth with a single to center and Gianna Morales was hit by a pitch to set the table for the Rams. After Kaley Brancaccio flied out to left, Loreto launched the first home run of her high school career.

In her eight innings of work in the circle, Loreto struck out six. Westminster Academy's Dianna Montidoro scattered nine hits and struck out seven for the Lions, who will play in the state semifinals in Clermont on May 18.

With only two seniors, John Carroll looks to have another strong season in 2022.

"We'll go back to the drawing board, we have a lot to work with and we should have some incoming freshman," Rosado said. "This one will hurt them for a while. Like I told them, maybe it wasn't meant for us to make state this year but the girls played good."

Region 2-7A

Park Vista 6, Treasure Coast 2

In Lake Worth, despite not recording a single extra-base hit, Park Vista softball defeated Treasure Coast 6-2 in the 7A regional finals on Friday night.

The Cobras (28-0) gave Treasure Coast (14-6) a steady dose of small-ball, keeping the Titans off-balanced in the infield chaos with a bevy of bunts and quickness on the bases.

“We have a certain offensive identity, and the girls execute it pretty well,” Park Vista coach Joe DellaRocca said. “When they do, we have a good shot at being successful. We capitalize on our speed and our ability to play offense.”

Those weren’t the only things the Cobras capitalized on. 

After a clean first inning from both sides, Park Vista took advantage of four of the six errors committed by Treasure Coast on the night in the bottom half of the second.

Danielle Dougherty beat out a throw to first on a well-placed bunt and then stole second. Pitcher Chloe Fariello then helped her own cause by reaching on a ground ball and advancing to second on defensive indifference.

Bri Schanuel then landed a successful bunt and an ensuing throwing error plated both runs. Emily Konz rounded out the scoring with her own hit and a diving slide under the tag at home plate. 

“We definitely got on them quick with the small-ball,” Cobra first baseman Rylee Kent said. “Error after error. It got really loud in the dugout and we started rattling them. They started making errors and mistakes and we kept feeding off of that.”

Park Vista would build their lead up to a 4-0 advantage before Treasure Coast struck back in the top half of the fourth.

Stepping up to the plate with bases loaded and two outs, sophomore Alexa Bethel crushed a line-drive toward left-field, scoring two to cut the deficit in half.

But adjustments by Park Vista proved successful. After throwing 145 pitches in the regional semifinals earlier this week, the Titans made Fariello work through extended at-bats, including a nine-pitch battle in the second and an 11-pitch at-bat in the fifth.

The Cobras turned to freshman Nicole Mergen on the mound for the final two innings of the contest, and the young hurler was impressive in closing out the game.

For Treasure Coast, despite Friday’s result, the season was an historic one. 

“Treasure Coast has never had a season like we did this time,” said Titans coach Lauren Kosinski. “We made it further than we’ve ever made it before. We’re excited to build on it, and keep pushing forward.  My girls played a great game, and just a phenomenal season.”

— Alex Peterman, Special to TCPalm