Spanish River softball snaps Park Vista losing streak to win district title
LAKE WORTH -- When Spanish River last visited the Park Vista softball field before Thursday's District 13 title game, the Cobras used that home field advantage to rout the Sharks 12-3 in an early-season tune-up this March.
History did not repeat itself in the championship matchup, as the defending Class 7A state champion Sharks (15-8) scored early and never looked back in beating the Cobras (16-6) 6-2 for their 12th consecutive win.
Both teams entered the contest with impressive team batting averages -- .314 for the Cobras, .333 for the Sharks. Both also came in off blowout playoff wins, Park Vista 16-0 over Olympic Heights; Spanish River 9-1 over Boca Raton. But the Sharks also had an 0-7 record against the Cobras dating back to March of 2015.
Something had to give, and Cobras head coach Louis Ortiz sounded confident before the game in his starting pitcher, senior Nicole Mergen -- who came in with a razor-thin 0.86 ERA -- and her younger sister, hot-hitting sophomore infielder Angeline Mergen.
"We have Nicole on the mound," he said, "and Angeline is going to be next in line here."
For her part, 15th-year Sharks head coach Ashley Byrd displayed the calm pedigree of a championship leader an hour before the first pitch.
"It's gonna be a big one," she said with a smile. "We hope to start a playoff run like last year's, and our starting pitcher tonight will be Giselle Portanova, a junior."
Portanova was also the Sharks' leadoff hitter, and she and senior third baseman Sophia Camacho both earned walks in the first inning off an uncharacteristically erratic Mergen. Enter left-handed senior designated hitter Tamsin Scarrett, who hit a mammoth home run to centerfield to give Spanish River a 3-0 lead.
The elder Mergen hit her own home run in the first inning, and a bloop single in the third inning to score her sister from second base and cut the Sharks' lead to 3-2. A standout two-way player, she ended her 2023-2024 season with nine home runs and 20 RBIs.
The fifth inning proved pivotal for both teams. A Portanova single and a Camacho double caused Ortiz to replace Mergen on the mound with senior first baseman Nariyah Jones. But Scarrett hit a ground ball off the new pitcher that went under the glove of Angeline Mergen, and the Cobras came up in the bottom of the inning trailing 5-2.
Byrd chose to intentionally walk Nicole Mergen, her first of two, to load the bases with only one out. But Portanova, who would pitch a complete-game victory, bore down, coaxing popouts and groundouts to end the threat.
The final run for Spanish River came as insurance in the seventh inning, courtesy of a Camacho double and a sacrifice bunt by second baseman Abygail Gonzalez to score her from third, where she'd advanced after another Cobras error.
"We'll find out who we're playing next tomorrow," Byrd said afterward. "We lose seven seniors after this year, but Giselle, who pitched a great game, is part of a strong bench coming back."
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Spanish River softball snaps Park Vista losing streak to win district title
