It’s not easy winning a high school state championship in any sport, and it’s probably more difficult trying to become back-to-back state champions. However, that’s the journey for Wellington High School’s girls varsity softball team this spring.
Under the guidance of head coach Mark Boretti, last year’s WHS team went 23-4 and won the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) Class 7A title, defeating Hagerty High School, 6-5. The final game took eight innings and required Jessilyn Vera crossing home plate after a sacrifice fly in a Kansas City Tiebreaker to determine the winner.
The Wolverines finished last season with a 10-game winning streak and were led by the pitching power and prowess of senior Tori Payne. Well, Payne has been lost to graduation, and this year’s squad is off to a tough 2-3 start. But hope springs eternal for Boretti and his squad of 15 players.
Boretti knew that this season would present its own set of challenges, and he was well aware that his early season schedule would be filled with competitive hurdles.
The most recent 3-1 loss to an undefeated squad from the Oxbridge Academy on March 3 is a good example of the degree of difficulty of Wellington’s schedule this spring.
To fill the void at pitcher, Boretti is solving the issue by implementing a policy of pitching by committee.
“We have three pitchers in our rotation,” said Boretti, now in his 17th and final season as the head softball coach at WHS. “Our three pitchers are Yanaira Andrade, Grace VanDyke and lefty Cameron Vickers. During the week of March 2, we have three games, and each pitcher will get a start.”
The highlight of the season, to date, was a 6-5 victory against Seminole Ridge High School.
“We had a great comeback win again Seminole Ridge on Feb. 25,” Boretti said.
The victory was secured when junior Gabi de los Reyes slugged a walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Throughout the season, Boretti is going to rely on the team’s oldest veterans to lead by example — in practice, on road trips, in the dugout and on the field during games.
“I have seven seniors on this year’s team, and I need all of them to lead the way this season,” Boretti said. “Our goal is play well enough to get into the regionals, and then anything can happen.”
For Boretti’s squad, the first of the three regional games won’t take place until May 7. The other two regional games will be May 12 and 14. The FHSAA Class 7A state final four will be contested May 22-23 at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood. Whether or not WHS is able to earn its way back to the finals remains to be seen. It’s quite possible, but it won’t be easy.
In other girls softball news:
- The Seminole Ridge softball team is off to a 3-3 start to the season. The Hawks, however, have won two straight games. Seminole Ridge senior Haven Berryhill is leading the team in batting average (.625), on-base percentage (.714) and stolen bases (10).
- The Palm Beach Central High School softball team is 1-3 after four games. Their lone win was a 19-7 victory against Olympic Heights High School on Feb. 19. Junior Kiah Haston is leading the team in batting average (.455), hits (5) and home runs (1).
- The King’s Academy softball team is 3-1 after four games. TKA started the season with three straight wins. Junior Gracyn Needle is leading the team in slugging percentage (1.875), on-base percentage (.889), batting average (.750), runs scored (13) and home runs (3).
- Berean Christian School is 3-0 and in pursuit of a second straight district title. Junior Julianne Severson leads the team in nine different offensive categories: slugging percentage (1.750), on-base percentage (.883), batting average (.833), runs batted in (14), runs scored (13), hits (10), doubles (4), triples (2) and home runs (1).
- The Royal Palm Beach High School girls varsity softball team did not open their season until Wednesday, March 4, when they hosted Glades Central High School. Results of that game were not available at press time.
