Coral Reef tops longtime softball rival Palmetto to win second GMAC title in three years
Coral Reef knew a youth movement was coming on its softball team this year.
But when they lost three-year starting pitcher Camilla Villamizar to a season-ending foot injury, the Barracudas knew they would have to lean even more on their younger players.
Two of Coral Reef’s most impactful freshmen - starting pitchers Erin Zambrano and Quinley Wiley - came through with another clutch performance on Thursday afternoon to help the Barracudas top rival Palmetto 5-2 and secure their second GMAC title in the past three seasons.
Zambrano struck out four and and walked none, allowing two runs on seven hits over six innings to pick up the win. Wylie then pitched a scoreless seventh to pick up the save as Reef avenged a loss to Palmetto in last year’s final.
The two have picked up the slack in Villamizar’s absence and formed a needed 1-2 pitching punch for Coral Reef (17-6-1), which will carry a four-game winning streak into districts.
Coral Reef and Palmetto met for the fifth consecutive time in the state final and the teams have now alternated winning the past four championships. But the Barracudas, who could still play Palmetto (10-9) again in districts and regionals, hope their primed for a sustained run of dominance.
“I think we’re clicking. We’re a young team, but the girls settled down and got nerves out of the way early,” Coral Reef coach Zach Segal said. “We’ve been building this team for a while and we have a good core of freshman so I’m hoping we’ll be good for a while.”
Coral Reef’s key underclass men group extends to its lineup which jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after one inning.
“These games with Palmetto are always intense and we talked about jumping on them early,” Segal said. “We did enough of that early on and made it happen.”
Brianna Fields went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBI.
The more experienced players on Coral Reef’s roster did the rest as juniors Brianna Perantoni and Aubrey Alonso each went 2 for 4 and junior Rachel Hawkins went 1 for 2.
“Losing a pitcher who was our ace for three and a half years, those freshman have done a great job stepping up,” Hawkins said. “We’ve seen all sorts of competition and pitching so I think that’s going to help us be ready for what’s coming up.”
Wylie’s sister, Sophia, is a senior at Palmetto and led the Panthers at the plate by driving in both runs in the fifth inning.
Palmetto threatened to add more and potentially tie the game in the seventh but a great defensive play by Fields sapped the Panthers’ momentum. After a single by Dani David, Gracie Silberberg rounded third for home. Fields fired the ball on target to sophomore catcher Charlotte Diedrick to get Silberberg out.
“The pressure is always what pushes us to play our best,” Perantoni said. “To jump on them quick is what saved us the most and we played really good defense and our pitching was phenomenal.”
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 8:12 PM.
