Gibbons softball tops longtime rival to secure first BCAA Big 8 championship
Cardinal Gibbons’ softball coach Emily Estroff used a boxing metaphor Wednesday night to describe her team’s resilience.
“I always tell them, you’re going to get punched, so you just have to punch back,” Estroff said.
Against one of the state’s top heavyweights, Coral Springs Charter, the Chiefs absorbed a lot of punches for a dozen years.
This season, Gibbons is punching back.
On Wednesday, the Chiefs landed a blow against their longtime nemesis after beating Coral Springs Charter 1-0 to secure their first ever BCAA Big 8 championship at Four Fields Park in Pompano Beach.
Sophomore Sloane Schaefer slid home ahead of the potential tag from Panthers catcher Gio Gurgel to secure the walk-off win after second baseman Reese Randall hit a sacrifice fly to center.
Randall, also a sophomore, earned tournament MVP honors.
“I knew I just had to put the ball in play and I was confident we were going to get the job done,” Randall said. “Now that we’ve proven we can beat them I feel like this whole team will have confidence in itself and have a great playoff season.”
According to Estroff, who is a Coral Springs Charter alum and won Big 8 MVP honors back in 2018, it was the first time Gibbons (22-1) beat Charter and first time it scored a run on the Panthers (17-3) in the past 12 seasons after being outscored 148-0 during that span.
“With us, if we get punched, I just don’t want us to get negative about ourselves and I think we’ve done a good job of punching back all season,” Estroff said.
Gibbons doesn’t appear to be punching above its weight class anymore.
The Chiefs are ranked second overall in the state behind only Doral Academy and ranked No. 24 nationally by MaxPreps.
They have one of the best aces in the country in senior Lydia Berent, a Stanford University signee, leading their team in the pitching circle.
Berent scattered five hits, walked one and struck out nine over seven shutout innings on Wednesday.
“We battled to the end and we know that about our team,” Berent said. “To come out here and show what it takes, took everybody. We made some great plays and it was awesome.”
But Berent has pitched at a high level for Gibbons for some time. This season, the Chiefs appear to have the most complete team they’ve had during her career.
On Wednesday, Gibbons went toe-to-toe with Charter, a five-time state champion which had won five of the previous seven BCAA Big 8 titles. Junior Courtney Wahlbrink pitched two scoreless innings, and eighth grader Iyralynn Courtney entered in relief and kept the Chiefs in check for 4 2/3 innings until Randall’s game-winner.
Sophomore Skylar Flack, who led Gibbons with two hits, opened the seventh with a single to center. Schaefer then reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a throwing error. Sophomore Dakota Williams doubled to left, but Schaefer was held at third with one out. Randall then sent the ball far enough into the outfield to allow Schaefer to score.
“It was a really good team win and the communication we had and teamwork helped us get this win,” Schaefer said. “We’re definitely going to go out stronger and hopefully score earlier (next time).”
Coral Springs Charter nearly took the lead in the top of the seventh after freshman Jazzy Chung singled with one out and junior Cameron Thiele followed with a bunt single. But Berent recovered by striking out sophomores Addi Brown and Bree Martinelli to end the frame.
“We’ve played a tough schedule and it’s put us in tough situations all season. There was no doubt in my mind we were getting out of that situation in the seventh,” Berent said.
The Chiefs are aware that Wednesday’s victory was only a stepping stone on the way to a greater challenge.
Gibbons will enter the playoffs next week as the top seed in Region 4-3A, but its path to state would include a potential regional final clash with either Coral Springs Charter in a rematch or defending state champion Miami Somerset Silver Palms.
“It feels good (to win this), but we know we’ll probably see them again, and we know we’re in the toughest region in the state,” Estroff said. “Our goal is to win a state championship and this is just one step closer.”
