After a pandemic-induced, one-year hiatus, the Florida state softball championships return this week, and three Broward or Palm Beach county teams earned spots in their classes’ final fours.
This year’s state playoffs are being held at the Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont, near Orlando.
Here is a look at all four local teams that have reached the state semifinals (all rankings are from MaxPreps):
Class 7A
Park Vista (28-0)
The Cobras are riding a 47-game win streak that dates back to 2019, despite a key setback. After a dominant start her senior year, star Tyrina Jones, who led Park Vista to the program’s first state title in 2019 and was that year’s South Florida Sun Sentinel large schools player of the year, suffered a season-ending injury early in the season. Still, the Cobras haven’t missed a beat. Sophomore Chloe Fariello has filled in admirably, pitching 23 games with a 1.01 ERA. Park Vista has crushed it at the plate, boasting a triple-slash line (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage) of .384/.456/.501.
The Cobras, ranked fifth in the state, face Orange City University (25-0) in the state semifinals in a battle of unbeatens on Friday at 12:30 p.m. University is ranked third in the state and ninth in the nation. The Titans have two stars who may make life difficult for Park Vista: junior Aminah Vega is batting .613 with 13 home runs this season, and junior pitcher Grace Taylor has a 0.66 ERA and 198 strikeouts in 137 innings.
Class 4A
American Heritage (15-8)
After picking up a narrow victory over Pompano Beach in the regional final, the Patriots head to Clermont seeking their ninth state championship and first since 2018. Heritage got off to a slow start to the season, losing its first five games and seven of its first eight. Since then, the Patriots have gone 14-1, with their only loss coming in extra innings against fellow state semifinalist Park Vista.
Heritage has a powerful offense, with the team boasting a .968 OPS. Emily Leggette leads the way on offense with a .576/.653/1.152 slash line and seven home runs, and Halle Roach (.525/.588/.932, 3 home runs) and Molly Mason (.448/.495/.465) have excelled at the plate, too. Marissa Thompson, who pitched a complete game in the regional finals, has been the team’s go-to pitcher and has given up only one run in her past 28 innings pitched.
The Patriots face Brooksville Hernando (25-4) in the state semifinal on Thursday at noon. Hernando is ranked 24th in the state, while Heritage is ranked 42nd. Hernando has a strong offense, with a team OPS of 1.002, and they have a team ERA of 1.83.
Class 2A
Westminster Academy (17-11)
Westminster Academy is the first local team to get their shot at winning a title. The Lions play St. Petersburg Caterbury (21-9) at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. Westminster is looking for the second state title in program history and first since 1999.
Westminster will largely rely on its offense and baserunning in Clermont. The Lions have a slash line of .335/.407/.443 this season, and they’ve stolen 48 bases this year. Eighth-grader Dianna Montidoro has been the catalyst for the Lions, batting .483 with seven extra-base hits and 20 steals this season. Westminster may need strong offense in this week because their pitching staff has an ERA of 4.71 this season. The Lions are ranked 181st in the state, and Canterbury is ranked 27th.
