Coral Reef softball continues dominance of GMAC championships
Coral Reef seniors Quinley Wylie, Erin Zambrano, Brianna Fields and Chloe Junco added to their collection of Greater Miami Athletic Conference softball championship medals.
The medals they haven’t secured yet are the ones they give out for winning a state championship.
They and the rest of the Barracudas hope to change that in a little over a month’s time if they can make a push for the school’s first state title since 2013.
On Friday at JC Bermudez High in Doral, Coral Reef picked up some momentum toward that goal with a 6-0 rout of Goleman to win their fourth consecutive GMAC tournament championship.
The Barracudas (15-4-1) are the top seed in District 16-7A with those playoffs beginning in two weeks. They are also projected as the top seed in Region 4-7A behind only Davie Western, a state champion in 2017 and 2024.
Wylie and Zambrano are among six returning starters for Coral Reef, and form a talented and experienced pitching combination that the Barracudas are counting on being the difference maker this season.
The two combined on a three-hitter on Friday against the Gators (11-4) and neither pitcher walked a batter. Wylie pitched five innings, allowed two hits and struck out eight. Zambrano tossed the final two frames, gave up one hit and struck out four.
“Between Quin and Erin we have the pitching to make states,” Coral Reef coach Zach Segal said.
Coral Reef struck for two runs in the first and two more in the second to quickly take control of the game.
Junior shortstop Sierra Johnson did the most damage at the plate, going 2-for-3 with three RBI. Zambrano also went 2-for-3 and had an RBI while Junco, Wylie and senior Alicia Thomason each had a hit.
For the third consecutive season, the Barracudas did not allow a run in the GMAC tournament with shutout victories over Miami Carol City (18-0) in the quarterfinals and Miami Palmetto (7-0) in the semifinals. The Barracudas have nine shutouts this season.
Goleman advanced to the finals after wins over South Dade (16-5) in the quarterfinals and TERRA (17-2) in the semifinals.
“We are a little top-heavy in our lineup, but when the bottom of the order gets on base, we become a hard team to beat,” Segal said.