Westminster Softball Wins State Title

To call the performance Westminster Christian’s softball team put forth in the Class 3A state final dominant would be somewhat of an understatement.

After a thrilling run through the playoffs, Westminster battered Moore Haven for a 12-0 mercy rule victory to capture the state title after being eliminated in the regional finals each of the last three seasons.

Starting pitcher Kelli Kleiss was once again the best player on the field, throwing a brilliant complete game shutout that included only two hits and nine strikeouts to shut down the opponent’s offense.

“I felt focused the entire game,” Kleiss told the press after the win. “I would have been happy to go seven innings and get the win but we had the offense really backing me up.”

In addition to a lights-out performance on the mound, Westminster put forth a showing of offensive power rarely seen in softball, let alone in the state finals.

Brittany Husk went 4-for-4 in the final two games of the year for a combined batting performance of 8-for-8 in the state tournament.

Additionally, in her 107 at-bats this season, Husk finished the year with zero strikeouts.

Husk, along with Caitlin Charlton and Kaitlyne Musa, played on Westminster Christian’s previous state championship winning team in 2009.

“This is the greatest feeling,” said Husk to the media. “When we won in seventh grade, you didn’t really know what it all meant. This is my last year, so to win it is a great feeling.”

Coral Reef Falls Short

The Coral Reef softball team fell one game short of the state finals, losing 5-1 to Oviedo Hagerty in the 8A semifinals.

Pitcher Michelle Mesa had a strong individual effort, allowing only two earned runs, but had a rough outing with no scoring support as the Lady Cudas recorded season lows in both hits and runs scored.

Despite the loss, the game started on a positive note when Christina Colli drove in a run on an RBI single in the first inning.

Hagerty tied the game in the bottom half of the frame and took over from there, limiting Coral Reef to just one more base runner in the game from that point.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was with the errors committed by Coral Reef, traditionally a nearly error-less team throughout the season.

“We had some tough games this season in which we came back,” head coach Dario Rodriguez told the media after the game. “Today was really an anomaly. It was just one of those games where it seemed like everybody made a mistake.”

Local Soccer Player Honored

Palmer Trinity star Daniel du Feu was named to the FACA First Team All-State.

Du Feu was responsible for Palmer Trinity’s success defensively in 2014, growing into a solid keeper for the Falcons.