Coral Springs Charter rallies vs. Western in extras, secures BCAA Big 8 softball title

Coral Springs Charter, a five-time state softball champion with designs on a sixth this season, didn’t like having to look up to Davie Western High in the preseason rankings.

The Panthers did something about it with a convincing 7-0 win over the Wildcats earlier this season.

But on Thursday night, Coral Springs Charter found itself behind Western again - this time on the diamond - trailing by three runs in the bottom of the seventh.

That was until junior catcher Stephanie Basso crushed her second home run of the game to left field igniting a three-run rally that tied it. Basso then ended things an inning later with a walk-off, RBI single to lift the Panthers to a 5-4 comeback win and the BCAA Big 8 tournament championship at Pompano Community Park’s Four Fields.

“I haven’t been doing well so I’m glad to play a part in this win,” Basso said. “We really wanted it. Before the season, they were ranked higher than us and that really upset us so we were glad to beat them for a second time.”

Coral Springs Charter (21-0-2) remained unbeaten as it heads into district play next week looking to begin a run to what would be its first state title since 2019 when it completed a stretch of five consecutive state titles, which is still the longest sustained championship run by a Broward softball team and tied with Bartow for the longest in state history.

Basso, who was named the tournament’s MVP, is no stranger to putting on such power displays.

Almost a year ago, Basso recorded a hat trick with three home runs to beat Gulliver Prep in the Class 3A regional quarterfinals.

After falling behind 2-0 in the first inning against Western (17-6), Basso lifted a riser from Wildcats starter Ali Solo just past the left field fence for a solo homer to cut the deficit in half. Basso went 3 for 4 with four RBI and the home runs were her second and third of the season, bringing a power element Charter hopes to see more from its players down the stretch.

“Basso was on fire tonight and has the potential to do that,” Coral Springs Charter coach Mark Montimurro said. “We expect a lot from her and that’s why she hits in the middle of our lineup.”

Western remains a major contender to return to the state tournament May 22-27 in Clermont to contend for its first state title since 2018 and second overall. The Wildcats struck quickly thanks to third baseman Jade Castillo, who doubled home the first two runs and drove in all four of her team’s runs.

But in the seventh, following an infield single by Heather Robertson, Basso crushed a fastball much further past the left field fence to cut Western’s lead to 4-3. Four batters later and with two outs, Jessie Sacca singled to right to score Grace Derstine to tie the game.

Julia Estroff led off the eighth by drawing a walk. She reached second on a wild pitch and then third after Kate Maston’s infield single and a sac bunt by Robertson, setting up Basso’s game-winning line drive to right field.

“This team has a lot of fight,” Montimurro said. “Whatever they’re capable of doing from a game plan standpoint, they execute it. That’s all we ask of them and they do it well.”

The Panthers, whose only ties came against state powers Doral Academy and Fort Myers Evangelical Christian in March’s Orange Bowl Fastpitch Invitational due to the tournament’s two-hour time limit, have remained steady thanks to a young duo of pitchers excelling even earlier than expected.

The combo of Sophia Bertorelli and Courtney Wahlbrink picked each other up on Thursday when Bertorelli exited the game in the third following Castillo’s RBI single to put Western ahead 3-1. Wahlbrink recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end that inning and kept the Wildcats in check until the top of the seventh when she gave up the fourth run on another Castillo RBI single. Bertorelli returned to the circle and struck out Kennedy Butter to avoid further damage. She then worked around a single by Alexis Ventura in the eighth by inducing Brooke Bacaris to line into a double play.

Bertorelli and Wahlbrink each finished with six strikeouts.