The Herald-Tribune looked back at all the area Sarasota-Manatee fast-pitch softball teams that have won state championships.
Five Sarasota/Manatee county softball programs have combined for eight state championships since the Florida High School Athletic Association went to fast-pitch softball in 1988.
Cardinal Mooney Catholic, Lakewood Ranch, and Parrish Community all have won two in back-to-back fashion. Riverview High and Sarasota High have the other two.
We laid out the resumes for all 8 local softball state champion squads in our all-time list, which you can read here, and then asked to tell us which team is the area’s best all-time state title winner.
After a week of voting, you selected the 1995 Cardinal Mooney softball team with 42.76 of the vote. CLICK HERE to see our poll results.
In 1995, ranked No. 1 in the state, Cardinal Mooney finished 30-5 following a 3-0 blanking of Fort Pierce John Carroll Catholic in the Class 2A state championship for its second straight title. Pitcher Jessi Kowal finished the season 20-5 with a four-hit shutout. She struck out seven. Kowal one-hit John Carroll in the 1994 state semifinals. The Cougars ended the season with a 19-game winning streak.
Coach Leslie Black also took the Cougars to the state final in 1996 and 1997, losing to John Carroll, 2-1, and Tampa Catholic, 1-0, respectively. Don Congdon took over the Cardinal Mooney program and guided the Cougars to the state title game in 1998, when they lost to Miami Gulliver Prep, 5-2. Cardinal Mooney disbanded its softball program from 2012 to 2020 before returning for the shortened COVID-19 season.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 1995 Cardinal Mooney wins All-Time Best Softball Team Poll
Reporting by MH Syin, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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