LONGWOOD – Jacksonville’s exclusive double-championship club for softball just grew by one under the Seminole County starlight.
Bringing their first two batters across the plate and riding one more ace performance from senior Dixie Tessier, University Christian completed a near-wire-to-wire domination of Florida High School Athletic Association Class 1A softball, defeating Casselberry Geneva 4-1 in the title game on May 20.
UC (21-4) earned its second FHSAA championship after previously winning it all in 2023, which like this one came under the leadership of veteran coach Keith Stroud.
“I’m a little numb right now,” Stroud said. “I thought coming into this the fourth teams that were here were fairly even, and anybody could probably win it on any given day. All our kids stepped up, especially our seniors.”
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Those seniors, Tessier and Elissa Murdock, took center stage as UC became only the third Northeast Florida team to win multiple FHSAA softball titles after Eagle’s View (2008-10) and Bartram Trail (2008-09).
The Fighting Christians didn’t even need a full inning to take command at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park. Leadoff batter Lydia Smith doubled and scored on a throwing error after Sinai Tunsill’s single. Tunsill then came around to score on Piper Tessier’s sacrifice fly for a quick 2-0 lead.
TESSIER TERRIFIC FOR UC
In her final high school game before heading to Catawba Valley Community College, Dixie Tessier came through once more.
She held Geneva (16-5) hitless for the first three innings, and when the Knights did get bat on ball, the UC defense was up to the task. Shortstop Murdock chased down a grounder in the hole to end the second inning and Tunsill tracked down a hard shot to the gap in the third.
“It just puts the cherry on top,” Tessier said.
Geneva mustered its first real threat in the sixth when Jazlyn Rodriguez hit an RBI double to get on the board, but Dixie Tessier got a strikeout and groundout to leave Knights on second and third. By that point, UC had already built a 4-0 edge, courtesy of an RBI triple by Murdock and an RBI single from Piper Tessier.
Then came the final groundout, Dixie Tessier to Ava Surles at first, the last pitch of her four-hit, five-strikeout final outing, and a pack of exuberant UC players swarming the field in celebration.
UC softball’s run may be far from finished. Although Dixie Tessier and Murdock are graduating seniors, UC is on course to return most of its lineup, including six players still in middle school.
“I never thought coming to UC that I’d win two times in the state championship, and be runner-up multiple other times,” said Murdock, who also started on the 2023 infield. “Just knowing they can keep it going in the next years, it’s crazy.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Champions! University Christian wins FHSAA state softball final
Reporting by Clayton Freeman, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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