This past May the Trenton softball team won the FHSAA Class 1A state title.
On Monday, freshman pitcher Addison Allaire and head coach Clint Anderson were recognized as the 2024 Florida Dairy Farmers Class 1A player and coach of the year, respectively, following balloting by a statewide panel of high school softball coaches and prep media representatives.
Allaire finished the year with a 13-2 record in the circle and a 0.99 earned run average. She recorded 213 strikeouts and only 24 walks in 99 innings pitched.
“Addison is one of the hardest working kids I’ve ever been around,” Anderson said. “She’s a perfectionist and won’t stop until she gets it right.”
Allaire had 18 strikeouts in a 3-2 walk-off win against Holmes County (Bonifay) in the state semifinals.
In addition to her success in the circle, Allaire led her team in almost every offensive category, finishing with a .397 batting average, .500 on base percentage, .780 slugging percentage, 29 hits, 31 runs scored, 33 runs batted in, 7 doubles, and 7 home runs.
“By far the best player in the state on both sides pitching and hitting in 1A, maybe in all classes, and she’s only a freshman,” Anderson said.
Trenton trailed Branford by four runs with one out remaining in the state championship game but rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh and scored two in the bottom of the eighth to beat the Bucs, 6-5.
In his third season as head coach, Anderson led the Tigers to a 23-2 record and the Tigers’ third state title in the past five years.
“As far as being named Coach of the Year, I appreciate it and it’s an honor, but this is about the kids and buying into what we were trying to accomplish as a team,” Anderson said. “This year’s team motto was ‘Be willing to do whatever it takes’ and ‘We > Me’ and I think as a team we turned the corner at the right time. When you have kids like Addi and a lot of the other girls on the team it’s easy to coach.”
Branford junior outfielder Ellie Frierson (.455 BA, 12 2B, 10 HR, 34 RS, 34 RBI) finished second in the voting for 1A Player of the Year while Fort White junior pitcher Kadence Compton (13-6, 0.94 ERA, 190 Ks, 23 BB, 112 IP; .407 BA, 22 RBI) came in third.
Oscar Saavedra was second in the voting for 1A Coach of the Year after the leading the Bucs (24-7) to their second straight 1A runner-up finish.
Gainesville High pitcher Leanna Bourdage and GHS coach Chris Chronister each finished second in the voting for 5A Player and Coach of the Year.
Bourdage (19-4, 0.57 ERA, 251 Ks, 49 BB, 136 IP; .386 BA, 7 HR), who is also a freshman, was edged by Parrish’s Erin Spivey, 113-109, for the 5A Player of the Year after leading GHS to a Class 5A state runner-up finish.
Below are the seven individual class finalists. Every finalist was the leading vote-getter in their classification, making each one the Player of the Year or Coach of the Year in their class.
Florida Dairy Farmers will announce the two overall winners following a final round of balloting by coaches and media.
Following are the 2024 Miss Softball Award finalists:
- Arlette Caravaca, Senior, Outfielder, Western, Class 7A Player of the Year
Helped her team to the state title with a .413 batting average, 11 doubles, 7 home runs, 31 runs scored and 36 runs batted in. Committed to the University of Iowa.
- Jayden Heavener, Senior, Pitcher, Pace, Class 6A Player of the Year
Led her team to the state title with a 25-2 record, a 0.44 ERA and 322 strikeouts in 142 innings pitched. She also hit for a .434 average with 6 doubles, 12 home runs and 32 RBI. She has committed to Louisiana State University.
- Riley Little, Senior, Pitcher, Parrish Community, Class 5A Player of the Year
Helped her squad to the state title with a 13-5 record, a 1.76 ERA and 207 strikeouts in 135 innings pitched. Committed to Palm Beach Atlantic.
- Skylar Cloud, Senior, Pitcher, Eustis, Class 4A Player of the Year
Led her team to the state championship with a 20-1 record and a 1.59 ERA with 143 strikeouts in 128 innings pitched. Committed to Seminole State College.
- Nevaeh Williams, Sophomore, Pitcher, Montverde, Class 3A Player of the Year
Williams helped her team to the state title with a 13-4 record and an 0.93 ERA with 152 strikeouts in 113 innings.
- Zoe Yzaguirre, Senior, Pitcher, Evangelical Christian, Class 2A Player of the Year
Led her team to the state title with a 20-2 record and a 1.21 ERA with 235 strikeouts in 120 innings pitched. She threw three consecutive no-hitters in the regional final, state semifinal and state championship games.
- Addison Allaire, Freshman, Pitcher, Trenton, Class 1A Player of the Year
Led her team to the state championship with a 13-2 record and a 0.99 ERA with 213 strikeouts in 99 innings pitched. She also hit .397 with 7 home runs, 31 runs scored and 33 runs batted in.
Following are the Softball Coach of the Year finalists:
- John Bradshaw, Western, Class 7A Coach of the Year
Led his squad to a 27-4 record and the state title. In three years at Western, Bradshaw has posted a 62-21 record with a Final Four appearance in 2022.
- Lexi Alexander, Pace, Class 6A Coach of the Year
In her second year at Pace, Alexander led her team to a 28-2 record and the state title, avenging a 5-1 loss to Bartow in the 2023 state-title game with a 2-0 win in this year’s championship game.
- Erin Spivey, Parrish Community, Class 5A Coach of the Year
The 2023 state coach-of-the-year led her squad to a 20-8 record and the school’s second straight state title.
- Brittany Beall, Eustis, Class 4A Coach of the Year
Led her squad to a 26-2 record and the state title. In 16 years at Eustis, Beall has posted a 256-77 record with two state titles (2021 and 2024) and another state final appearance (2017).
- Kahley Armstrong, Montverde, Class 3A Coach of the Year
In her first year at Montverde, Armstrong led her squad to a 28-4 record and the school’s first state championship.
- Johnny Manetta, Evangelical Christian, Class 2A Coach of the Year
In his fourth year at ECS, Manetta led his team to a 29-2 record and the first state title in school history by avenging last year’s championship game loss to University Christian in this year’s state final.
- Clint Anderson, Trenton, Class 1A Coach of the Year
In his third season as head coach, Anderson led his squad to a 23-2 record and the state championship, the school’s third state title in the past five years (2019 and 2021).
Final voting numbers by class listed below:
Class 7A
Player School Points
Arlette Caravaca Western 71
Julie Kelley Spruce Creek 59
Veronica Peterson East Ridge 37
Coach School Points
John Bradshaw Western 121
Aimee Stiffey Seminole 87
Steve Ahern Jupiter 45
Class 6A
Player School Points
Jayden Heavener Pace 119
Katelynn Oxley Bartow 83
Jasmine Francik Melbourne 30
Coach School Points
Lexi Alexander Pace 132
Glenn Rutenbar Bartow 76
Leah Pemberton Bloomingdale 34
Class 5A
Player School Points
Riley Little Parrish 87
Leanna Bourdage Gainesville 78
Leila Ammons Gulf Breeze 30
Coach School Points
Erin Spivey Parrish 113
Chris Chronister Gainesville 109
Steve Lenzi Horizon 37
Class 4A
Player School Points
Skyler Cloud Eustis 95
Marissa Burchard LaBelle 59
Bre Clark Arnold 39
Coach School Points
Brittany Beall Eustis 118
Kylee Canaday Baker County 82
Raymond Marroquin LaBelle 69
Class 3A
Player School Points
Neveah Williams Montverde 62
Morgen Talley Calvary Christian 46
Shaylen Byrd Baldwin 43
Coach School Points
Kahley Armstrong Montverde 102
Dion Weaver Calvary Christian 84
Jennifer Shields Baldwin 67
Class 2A
Player School Points
Zoe Yzaguirre Evangelical Christian 113
Sophia Kardatzke University Christian 63
Isabella Ruggiero Oxbridge Academy 39
Coach School Points
Johnny Manetta Evangelical Christian 114
Keith Stroud University Christian 91
Rico Rosado John Carroll 49
Class 1A
Player School Points
Addison Allaire Trenton 112
Ellie Frierson Branford 85
Kadence Compton Fort White 54
Coach School Points
Clint Anderson Trenton 130
Oscar Saavedra Branford 82
Jennifer Sewell Liberty County 39