Doral Academy’s Lopez, Breaux, Abdullah are the Dade 7A-6A Softball Players of the Year
Yessenia Lopez refined her pitches, making her even more dangerous in the pitching circle.
Anabela Abdullah focused on her defense and committed no errors the entire season at shortstop.
And Sarah Breaux had one of the best hitting seasons ever by a Miami-Dade County softball player.
The trio were at the heart of Doral Academy’s push to return to the state final four and become one of the top ranked teams in the country.
As such, Lopez is once again the Miami Herald’s Miami-Dade Softball Pitcher of the Year for Classes 7A-6A.
Meanwhile, Breaux and Abdullah share the distinction of being Miami-Dade Softball Players of the Year for 7A-6A.
Lopez, a UCF commit, was always a hard thrower. But this season, she honed her skills throwing her offspeed pitches to make her an even more dominant starter. She went 13-1 with a 1.10 ERA in 101.2 innings while facing some of the best competition in the country. She struck out 170 batters and walked only 15.
Lopez said she physically felt like she was in the best shape of her career, which translated to her pitching.
“Having a weight coach really helped me this year,” Lopez said. “I utilized that to improve as a player, becoming more flexible and stronger. I think I successfully did that.”
On the hitting side, no one was better than Breaux.
Already coming off a double-digit home run season as a sophomore, Breaux took things to new heights, hitting .603 with 15 home runs, eight doubles and a staggering 50 RBI.
Breaux, who came up with clutch hits in nearly every tough game including her 15th in the Firebirds’ season-ending 7-6 loss to Bartow in the Class 6A state semifinals, said she improved in all phases this season.
“My offense has always been my strong point,” Breaux said. “This year I focused more on the defensive side. My job was to score runs and get some RBI. Staying in the moment helps me a lot.”
It’s hard to find a better defender at shortstop than Abdullah, a Team USA U15 member and gold medalist in the summer of 2023. She’s no slouch at the plate either as she hit .493 with 10 home runs, 10 doubles and 28 RBI to add depth to the Firebirds’ potent lineup, which helped them go 26-2 and earn a top 15 national ranking.
“I feel like I did a good job, especially on defense,” Abdullah said. “It’s something we always work on at Doral. What we do here is for the team and get the hits when we need it. I did a good job knowing who I am as a player.”
