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.'
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