Latest news with #Rebhan
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Somerset's Rebhan, Stevens are the Dade 3A-1A Softball Pitcher, Player of the Year
Taylor Rebhan and Ava Stevens had waited for such a moment since they began playing for the Somerset Silver Palms softball team in middle school. After coming up short at state each of the past two seasons, they Stallions left no doubt this year on their way to their first ever state championship. 'Every year we got so close and finally actually did it,' said Rebhan, a junior shortstop and University of Louisville commit. Rebhan and Stevens were each key to the triumph as they have been to building one of the best programs in the state over the past few years. Rebhan with her excellent glove at shortstop and prolific hitting at the plate, and Stevens with dominant performances in the pitching circle. And so, Rebhan and Stevens are once again the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Softball Player and Pitcher of the Year for Classes 3A-1A. Rebhan is the 3A-1A Player of the Year after another stellar hitting season in which she hit .430 with five home runs, seven doubles, four triples and compiled 24 RBI. Stevens is the 3A-1A Pitcher of the Year after going 17-4 with 97 strikeouts in 144 innings pitched. She also hit .400 and scored 34 runs while driving in 15 more. Stevens made more of an emphasis on becoming the most dominant pitcher she could entering her sophomore season and accomplished the goal with clutch performances throughout the postseason. 'My approach to failing improved. I'm used to hitting good every year, but this year I didn't hit as well,' Stevens said. 'But my pitching was most important. I handled it better. Just adjusting to knowing I had to do my job pitching and my team will pick me up was important.' Stevens is likely to be offered by multiple Division-I schools once schools can after September 1. Rebhan has the tools to be one of the next great players to come from South Florida and showed it again this season. But things didn't start so well for the Stallions overall. Somerset Silver Palms lost three of its first five games before an eight-game winning streak put it back on course toward a state title. 'The beginning started rough. I don't think, in the beginning, we had the confidence we could make it this far,' Stevens said. 'We felt like we're not this bad and we have to show that these teams we were playing aren't on the same level we are.' With Stevens and Rebhan set to return next season along with several other players from a core which has been together for the past three years, Somerset's state title could only be the first in a sustained run of success. 'We've all been playing together since we were in sixth or seventh grade,' Rebhan said. 'We all know each other and how are mindsets work. So to finally win this together was great. We know we can beat any team together. We just have to come in with the mentality that we can lose to anyone, but we can beat anyone.'
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Doral Academy's Viruet, Somerset's Rebhan are Miami-Dade Softball Coaches of the Year
Doral Academy's Willie Viruet and Somerset Silver Palms' Gator Rebhan direct what have been the two most successful softball programs in Miami-Dade County in recent years. But a state championship eluded both programs over the past three seasons. In Rebhan's case, the Stallions had never hoisted a state championship trophy. In Viruet's case, the Firebirds had in 2021, but had come heartbreakingly short more than once of recapturing that feeling again. It all changed this season as both Doral Academy and Somerset Silver Palms overcame that final roadblock and were each state champions. And so, Viruet and Rebhan are once again, the Miami Herald's Miami-Dade County Softball Coaches of the Year. Viruet is the winner for Class 7A-4A after leading Doral to its second state title in school history. The Firebirds have been regulars at the state final four under his watch, advancing to at least the state semifinals every season since 2019 - the longest active streak for any Dade team. This season, Doral took things up a notch, however. The Firebirds finished the season 31-1, ranked No. 3 in the nation and higher than any other Florida team. Doral capped the season with a dramatic 5-4 comeback win in eight innings over Valrico Bloomingdale in the Class 6A state semifinals before beating Pace 1-0 in the final. Miami Herald 7A-4A Pitcher of the Year Meagan Villazon, an FIU signee, was the main reason for the team's success in the pitching circle. Junior shortstop Anabela Abdullah, a Texas commit and the Herald's 7A-4A Player of the Year, and senior third baseman Sarah Breaux, the Herald's Player of the Year in 2024 and a Clemson signee, drove the Firebirds' offense. For Somerset Silver Palms, the state championship was a brand new feeling. And it was something Rebhan hadn't experienced for over two decades since leading Miami Palmetto to a pair of state titles in 2000 and 2003. Rebhan left high school coaching for a few years while coaching at the collegiate level at FIU and later solely travel ball. But he returned to the high school scene and began building Silver Palms into a state powerhouse in 2021. After two consecutive years reaching state, the Stallions finally secured that elusive first title with convincing wins over Dunedin and Eustis. Rebhan's daughter Taylor Rebhan, a junior shortstop and Louisville commit, and sophomore pitcher Ava Stevens, who are the Miami Herald's 3A-1A Player and Pitcher of the Year respectively, led the Stallions throughout the season.
Miami Herald
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Somerset Silver Palms softball keeps routine intact: Chick-Fil-A and a trip to state
Who knows. Maybe a trip to Chick-fil-A is the secret. For the fourth consecutive year, two of the best softball teams in the state, Miami Somerset Silver Palms and Coral Springs Charter squared off in the Region 4-3A final. About as evenly matched as you can get, the two teams, ranked 1 and 2 in the state in Class 3A and No. 4 (Charter) and No. 7 (Silver Palms) regardless of classification, once again turned in an instant classic. And for the third straight year, it was Silver Palms, each time as the No. 2 seed on the road, which frustrated the Panthers, pulling off a down-to-the-wire 4-3 victory at Cypress Park in Coral Springs. It also marked the third straight year that Silver Palms coach Gator Rebhan has turned it into a little bit of a mini-road trip for his players. Leaving early in the day, the Stallions made the long drive north, stopped off for the team's pregame meal at a nearby Chick-fil-A, capped it off with some ice cream and then headed to the field a few hours early to start their preparations for the big game. The net result was 1-0 and 4-2 wins each of the last two years and then Thursday's victory. 'Chick-fil-A, that's our winner right there,' said a euphoric Rebhan following the game. 'That's been our routine the last two years, what we did again today and I've got news for you, if we're back up here again next year like we've been the last three years, we'll be back at Chick-fil-A again. I won't break that routine.' For the third straight year, the Stallions (22-6) punched their ticket to the state final four and will head north as the No. 1 seed and take on No. 4 Dunedin in a Class 3A state semifinal on May 21 at Boombah-Soldiers Creek Park in Longwood, just outside Orlando. After a runner-up finish two years ago and losing in the semifinals last season, Silver Palms will look to bring home its first state title this time. 'Let's go up there and bring back the big trophy this time,' Rebhan told his excited players when they huddled up in left field after the game. Silver Palms did it in comeback fashion. After seeing an early 2-0 lead disappear when Charter (23-4) rallied to score three times in the bottom of the fourth, the Stallions answered that by scoring twice in the fifth and then, thanks to some clutch pitching from Ava Stevens, hung on for the win. Taylor Rebhan got the fifth started by drawing a leadoff walk and Stevens followed with an infield single. After Leilani Gonzalez hit into a force out, Caylee Cerda, an eighth grader, laced a base hit to left scoring Stevens from second, who barely beat the throw at the plate and the game was tied. With runners on second and third and two outs, a changeup from Charter pitcher Courtney Wahlbrink was low, but nothing catcher Heather Robertson couldn't handle. But the ball hit the front of the plate and popped up over Robertson's head to the backstop and Gonzalez raced home for what turned out to be the game-deciding run. Facing the No. 3-4-5 hitters in the lineup in the bottom of the seventh, Stevens induced two fly balls to right to record the first two outs before Wahlbrink lined a base hit to center to keep the Panther hopes alive. But Cerda handled a sharp grounder to third by Shelby Stephens and cooly fired to first for the final out. 'I knew I needed to keep the ball low in that last inning because they had their best hitters up and didn't want to give up anything deep,' said Stevens, a senior who has been on the team since sixth grade. 'Coming up here and beating this them again on their field is amazing. We know they're a really good team and that it's tough to beat them on their field but having done it the last few years, that builds your confidence that you can come up here and do it again and that's exactly what we did.' Wahlbrink, Stephens and Addi Brown led off Charter's fourth inning with consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. Just when it looked like Stevens would work her way out of the jam, Addi Michel and Bree Martinelli came through with 2-out base hits which brought in three runs. 'Sometimes – you just have somebody's number and right now, the last three years, we've had their number,' Rebhan said. 'Charter's a great team, ranked number one for a reason. What's really unfortunate is that these two teams have to meet in this round every year because, other than 6A with Doral, if we were in separate classifications, we'd probably both be state champions. It's unfortunate that one of us has to go home every year.' On the other end of the spectrum, Charter coach Mark Montemurro was the picture of frustration. Sitting quietly in the dugout while his players sobbed and hugged each other, Montemurro, who led the Panthers to a state record-tying five straight state titles from 2015-19, could only lament on coming up short for a third straight season. 'We actually outhit them 9 to 7 and then we get a ball that hits the front of the plate that brings in the game-deciding run,' Montemurro said. 'What really killed us was that our No. 3 and 4 hitters went a combined 0-for-7 at the plate and when you lose a game by one run, that can be the difference.'
