Results are in. Voters tab Columbus pitcher as Miami-Dade Spring Athlete of the Year
Federico Zapata emerged as one of Miami-Dade County’s most consistent pitchers in his first and final year as the Columbus Explorers’ ace.
His presence on the mound played a key role in Columbus’ deep run in the playoffs this year.
And it leaves him with one more accolade.
Miami Herald readers voted Zapata as the Miami Herald’s Spring Athlete of the Year for Miami-Dade County.
Zapata, a Barry University signee, posted a 0.76 ERA over 73 2/3 innings. He struck out 66 batters and allowed just seven walks while throwing seven complete games.
“I’m really proud of how of I played this season,” Zapata said. “I feel like I demonstrated I can do good things in the future. I’m excited to go to Barry and play for them and see what happens.”
Zapata had to bide his time before getting on the mound consistently.
He only pitched five innings in relief as a junior last season with Columbus featuring a senior-heavy roster in 2021.
But with the majority of Columbus’ roster from that season graduating, Zapata and his fellow classmates had their time to shine as seniors. The pressure would be on a group that, by Columbus’ standards, was inexperienced.
They were up for the challenge.
“We came in this year knowing that we were going to battle and fight,” Zapata said.
The Explorers finished 27-5, falling in the Class 7A regional finals to eventual state champion Stoneman Douglas, and never lost consecutive games.
“We had a lot of ups and downs,” Zapata said, “but when we were down, we were able to pick each other up and hop back on a winning streak. ... We were hot in the playoffs and able to make it far.”
About 3,300 people voted in the poll, which included all 22 players from Miami-Dade County who were named player of the year by the Miami Herald for the spring season. Zapata received 52 percent of the vote, with Westminster Christian baseball’s third baseman Sal Stewart (19 percent), Westminster Christian beach volleyball duo Emily and Zoey Matias (6 percent), Palmetto badminton’s Katarina Slazas (5 percent) and Westminster Christian softball standout Isabella Artiles (5 percent) rounding out the top five.
The Miami Herald has selected its overall Athletes of the Year and will reveal those winners this week. The results from this poll will not have a bearing on those selections.
This story was originally published June 15, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
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