Somerset’s Playa, Westminster’s Artiles are Miami-Dade Softball 5A-2A Pitcher, Player of Year
When their teams needed them most, Edan Playa and Isabella Artiles were there.
Playa helped the Somerset Academy Silver Palms softball team reach the regional finals for the first time in school history, while Artiles was Westminster Christian’s backbone both in the circle and at the plate before a season-ending injury in the district semifinals.
It’s why Playa and Artiles are respectively the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Softball Pitcher and Player of the Year for Classes 5A-2A.
Playa, a junior, made a major jump in production this season for Somerset. She finished the year with a 0.82 ERA while striking out 112 batters against just 12 walks in 119 2/3 innings. This came after she posted a 2.57 ERA with 55 strikeouts last season.
She allowed just five runs (two earned runs) in six playoff games, a stretch that included shutout wins over Somerset Academy South Homestead and Keys Gate before a 6-2 win over Westminster Christian to win District 16-3A followed by a 15-0 win over West Palm Beach King’s Academy in the regional quarterfinals and a 5-1 win over SLAM in the regional semifinals. The season ended with a 2-1 loss to Coral Springs Charter in the regional finals.
“Being the ace of the team was a lot of pressure,” Playa said, “but I feel like I earned a lot of respect for myself and my team. I knew I had to go out there every game hungry and ready to give it my all.”
Her curveball and screwball are her go-to pitches and the movement on both pitches help her induce weak contact.
“I feel like people say about me that I’m not a strikeout pitcher,” Playa said, “but I do make people hit bad contact.”
Artiles, meanwhile, was productive both in the circle and at the plate for Westminster Christian. The senior had a 2.50 ERA with 118 strikeouts over 95 1/3 innings in the circle while also hitting .310 with five doubles, one home run, 11 RBI and 17 runs scored as a hitter.
But her season — and high school career — prematurely ended due to a broken foot, an injury sustained on the team’s Senior Night.
“It was a great disappointment,” Artiles said of the injury. “I think that dealing with the injury, I just couldn’t quit on the team. Even though I’m not playing, I’m still in the dugout cheering on the girls, still involved with the pitch calling. I was still involved with stuff that didn’t me playing on the field. It’s crazy I had to end my senior year with this.”
The injury, while tough, also emphasized one quality of Artiles’ game that she takes significant pride in.
“I’m not a quitter,” said Artiles, who is heading to the University of North Carolina on an academic scholarship with the intention to major in business. “Even if my foot is hurt, I’m still going to cheer on the team and participate in everything. I had the girls come over for a dinner and even though I was hurt, I still was cheerful and joyful having the girls over.”