FORT PIERCE — The area’s hottest high school softball team continues to stack up wins.
For John Carroll Catholic, the hope is to stay rolling long enough to earn a return trip back to states.
So far, so good.
After Makayla Ortiz shook off a rough start in the circle, Isabella Ramirez delivered a mid-game home run and Sammi Rychter pulverized over the right-field fence for a walk-off shot, the Rams easily handled their latest challenge to extend their current winning streak to 13 games. John Carroll crushed Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart 13-2 in five innings during a Region 4-2A quarterfinal on Wednesday from Pam Brawdy Field.
“Basically, they don’t want to lose. They refuse to lose,” Rams head coach Rico Rosado said.
Watch regional softball games in Florida
John Carroll (22-4) was the No. 2 seed in the region while the Cyclones were seeded seventh. The Rams will take on another Miami-area team in the next round as they’ll play host to No. 3 Florida Christian at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Patriots defeated No. 6 King’s Academy 4-1 in their regional quarterfinal.
Carrollton got on the scoreboard first as a throwing error from third base allowed a pair of runs to score in the top of the first. From there, it was all John Carroll, who surged ahead with five runs in the bottom of the frame.
Briley Orton started the home team’s offense with an RBI groundout. That was followed by Victoria O’Brien roping a two-run single to right to give the home team a cushion it wouldn’t relinquish. The home team batted around in the first, sent 10 batters to the plate in the second and scored in every inning but the fourth as part of a 13-hit attack.
‘She corrects what she knows she’s doing wrong’
Ortiz struggled with her command during a 33-pitch opening frame in which she often missed low in the zone.
The junior ace walked the leadoff hitter Allyson Wolfson and couldn’t execute a put-away pitch with two strikes later in a walk to Isabella Whitby. Those struggles continued as Sylvia Figueroa fouled off three pitches before hitting a grounder that led to a two-run error.
Admitting she was nervous to start, Ortiz threw extra pitches to junior batterymate Mallory Vaudrin as the Rams were at-bat before returning to the circle in the second and overwhelming the Cyclones. She needed just 23 total pitches to fan the sides in both the second and third.
“I was working on my pitches, trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. My timing was off,” Ortiz said. “I threw with (Vaudrin), we kind of talked it out and I felt a lot better heading into the second inning.”
The junior struck out the side once more in the fifth. Facing the minimum from the second inning on, Ortiz didn’t give up a hit and finished with 12 strikeouts.
“That’s the type of pitcher that she is; she corrects what she knows she’s doing wrong,” Rosado said.
Rams play the waiting game
Carrollton senior Madelyn Althage did not throw the same velocity or have the same snap on her pitches as her Rams counterpart. Althage’s offerings often floated into her catcher and, at times, bounced in the dirt.
The hosts’ approach in the box was pretty simple: remain patient for a strike.
“My approach was to relax and wait on it,” John Carroll senior Mikale Lemons said. “There was no need to rush your swing or anything, just sit back, coil and then swing.”
Due up third in the second, Ramirez was reminded by Rosado of the approach after she grounded out on an 0-1 count in her first at-bat.
“The (home-plate umpire) called a low strike and she right away showed emotion,” Rosado recalled. “I preach to all of them not to show emotion because then the empire might get upset, and then the next pitch is definitely going to be a strike no matter how borderline it is. The second pitch she swung at wasn’t a strike. … So moving forward, I told her and the rest of the team to relax and back up because the pitches weren’t coming in as fast.”
Ramirez responded with a two-run single in her second plate appearance behind clubbing a solo shot in the third. The senior had a team-best three RBIs and was one of six players to finish with two hits. Touching home plate last following her walk-off home run, Rychter led the team with three runs scored.
Lemons were 2-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs scored. In the process, the senior achieved a milestone by scoring 100 career runs.
“It feels pretty great. I wasn’t expecting it until two games ago when I looked at the stats,” said Lemons, who is signed to play softball collegiately at Masschusetts Maritime Academy. “It feels pretty good that the coaches have trusted my ability to steal and run the bases.”
‘Don’t worry, we’re going to win it’
John Carroll has outscored its opponents by a combined margin of 110-35 since last losing on March 29.
What has been the turning point?
Players point to last month’s Bill Longshore Memorial Tournament in which the Rams won four games in two days in Naples.
“Ever since Naples, winning that tournament I think has been a really big confidence boost,” Ortiz said. “It’s gelled us together and we’re all motivated to go to states.”
For Rosado, the signature moment occurred just prior to regionals.
The Rams coughed up a five-run lead due to defensive miscommunication during the District 13-2A title game against King’s Academy. But rather than point fingers, they responded as Rychter drove in what would be the game-winning run in the sixth.
“The girls came into the dugout and said, ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to win it,’ all without any of the coaches saying anything,” Rosado remembered. “They just started talking and saying, ‘we’re not losing this game, we’re not losing this game.’”
John Carroll doesn’t plan on losing anytime soon.
Other regional quarterfinals
Region 4-4A
No. 1 American Heritage-Plantation (20-2) 4, No. 8 Okeechobee (9-15) 2
The Brahmans were five outs away from pulling off the upset of the tournament. But against a team that entered with 17 home runs, Okeechobee fell victim to the long ball in late stages.
Mia West blasted a go-ahead three-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to lift the Patriots to a comeback home victory in Plantation.
American Hertiage entered the postseason as the top-ranked team in Class 4A and ranked sixth overall in the state. However, the hosts trailed 2-1 before leading off the sixth with a walk from Samantha Santana and a single from Bria Villano. Two batters later, West sent the first offering from Lilly Larson over the center-field fence to put the Patriots in front.
The visitors were retired in order in the top of the seventh. They opened the scoring in the first thanks to an RBI single from Melaine Bonilla to bring Tehya Nunez to the plate. The Brahmans doubled their advantage in the second when Jenessa Arana drove in Haylee Pendrey with a single to center.
Nunez had a team-best two hits. Bonilla, Arana, Pendrey and Kiera Snell each had one hit. Meanwhile, Larson quieted the bats for most of the night, allowing three hits and three walks with two strikeouts through six innings of work. Prior to the homer, the only other run American Heritage got off Larson was an RBI fielder’s choice in the second.
Region 4-1A
No. 4 Academy for Innovative Education (10-7) 10, No. 5 Morningside Academy (15-8) 9
A gusty comeback injected life into the Eagles, but the Aviators won in walk-off fashion to get the last laugh in Miami Springs.
Following a leadup walk in the bottom of the seventh inning, Alexa Garofalo ripped a line-drive triple to right field off Leigha Race to plate Mia Gonzalez from first for the game-winning score.
Through five innings, AIE led 9-4 before Morningside mounted a charge with a five-run sixth. The first two batters that inning reached on an error and a single before Aubrey Traver singled two batters later to load the bases with one out. Addyson Brown and Reghan Wilbur each walked to bring home a run, followed by an error, a Race RBI groundout and another error to tie the game at 9-9.
Traver was the Eagles’ top hitter, going 4-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Trinity Richards and Gabbriela Oliver each added two hits.
Race, who had a double at the plate, allowed 10 runs (six earned) off of 11 walks and five hits. She struck out 10 batters in six-plus innings in the circle.
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Patrick Bernadeau is a sports reporter for Treasure Coast Newspapers. He can be reached at 772-985-9692, on X at @PatBernadeau or via email at pbernadeau@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: FHSAA Softball: Early deficit doesn’t phase streaking John Carroll, Rams headed to region semis
Reporting by Patrick Bernadeau, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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