Heritage’s Legette, CSC’s Bertorelli are Broward Softball Players of the Year for 5A-2A

Broward County featured one of the best hitters in Florida and one of the state’s best pitchers. Now, they’re the Miami Herald’s Broward County Softball Players of the Year for Classes 5A-2A.

Emily Legette batted .600 and helped Plantation American Heritage win 16 to become the the Herald’s Broward County Softball Player of the Year for Classes 5A-2A and Sophia Bertorelli put up a 0.54 ERA and and led Coral Springs Charter to an undefeated regular season to become the Broward County Softball Pitcher of the Year for Classes 5A-2A.

Legette’s big batting average is something she didn’t even realize she was tracking toward throughout the season, she said. The star infielder also hit seven home runs, 13 doubles and a triple, and stole 14 to bases.

“I didn’t even realize,” the senior said. “I was just going up, hitting the ball and see what’s happening, but I think that’s definitely my strong suit this year. ... Just not trying to hit home runs every single time. Singles, doubles are OK, too, and I’ve just been racking them up this year, helping my team out in the best way I can.”

Legette is now a three-time Broward Softball Player of the Year and off to Virginia Tech next season.

Bertoletti’s rise to become one of the best pitchers in the state happened fast. She was an important piece of the puzzle in Coral Springs last year, but didn’t become a starting pitcher until this season and immediately blossomed into a star. The sophomore threw 128 1/3 innings, racked up about 200 strikeouts, and won 20 games and a District 14-3A championship.

The Panthers went undefeated up until the Region 4-3A championship, reaching the region title game for the sixth time in seven seasons.

“In the beginning of the season, it was honestly really scary because I had really big shoes to fill,” Bertorelli said. “Throughout all the years, we’ve had amazing pitchers, so it was very nerve-wracking, but I knew my team had my back.”

Bertorelli also played some infield and had two RBIs.

Next year, she’ll try to bring a six state title back to Coral Springs.

“I got better with having so much pressure on myself that I don’t need to strike every single person out, like my defense can work and I’m OK with that,” Bertorelli said. “I don’t have to have everything on my shoulders.”

This story was originally published June 14, 2023 at 7:20 AM.