If it weren’t for her Lake Worth Christian classmates or a first-time coach, Becca Ross would have closed her varsity softball career a year before graduation.
Instead, the senior pitcher/infielder will be in Vero Beach Monday with her Defenders’ teammates, preparing for a Class 2A state semifinal against top-ranked Land O’ Lakes-Academy at the Lakes (24-4).
Ross, a seven-year veteran of the Lake Worth Christian varsity softball team, almost didn’t get to play this year after two of the Defenders’ top players from last season transferred and another graduated.
Lacking enough experienced players to field a team, the school seemed on the verge of scratching the sport this season.
But Ross’ teammates weren’t ready to call it quits.
Last fall, they began passing out ‘Save Becca’s Senior Year’ flyers around the campus, hoping to recruit players to join the team. They also began looking for someone to coach it.
In stepped Juli Duke.
A longtime softball player who had never coached the sport, she volunteered to take over the team if no one else could.
No one else did, and the job was hers.
“I said I would do it, because it was important to Becca,” said Duke, who is the school’s media center technology coordinator. “She had played so long.”
That was in November. Two months later, Duke held her first practice.
Only six players showed up.
Several more trickled in after the girls soccer team finished its season, and Duke finally had enough players to field a team. But only a few had softball experience.
Duke acknowledged she had no expectations for her team at that point.
“I had three good players,” she said.
One of them — Ross — was not available for the Defenders’ first game against Pompano Beach-Highlands Christian Feb. 13.
Despite her absence, Lake Worth Christian won that game, 16-13.
The Defenders went on to win seven more games during the regular season and three more in the playoffs, using a starting lineup that included an eighth-grader, three freshmen and two sophomores. Three seventh-graders also saw playing time off the bench.
“I am so proud of each of these girls,” said Duke, whose team finished the regular season 8-2. “Each one of these young ladies has improved so much since day one.”
They continued to get better during the postseason.
The Defenders, seeded second behind Glades Day in the District 7-2A tournament, finished as runner-up to the Gators after falling 4-3 in the title game.
But Lake Worth Christian rebounded with a 12-10 upset of Homestead-Colonial Christian — the state’s No. 3-ranked team — in the regional semifinals. And the following week, the Defenders upset Glades Day 9-4 to advance to the state tournament.
Monday’s game will mark Lake Worth Christian’s fourth appearance in the state softball semifinals since 2000. The Defenders (11-3) are seeking their first state championship.
“They’re all excited,” Duke said of her team. “They know they’re playing right now, here in the present. It’s one play at a time. That’s my philosophy. You’re in the moment, so play that moment.”
