Broward 4A-1A softball player of the year: Lydia Berent, Cardinal Gibbons senior

Cardinal Gibbons marched through most of its schedule, losing only one regular-season game (to reigning Class 6A champion Doral Academy) and going on a 21-game winning streak.Lydia Berent was at the heart of that dominant stretch.The star senior pitcher is the Sun Sentinel’s Broward County Class 4A-1A player of the year for the second year in a row after closing out her high school career with a stellar senior campaign.

As one of the few seniors on a team loaded with standout underclassmen, Berent made it a point to become a stronger leader before the season.“I think it’s just about connecting with my teammates,” Berent said. “…

All of them are different. Everyone has different personalities, and just finding a way to connect to them and to bring the best out of them when I need to and just being there and being someone they can go to.”On the field, Berent was dominant.

She started 24 of the Chiefs’ 28 games, posting a 22-2 record. She had a 194 strikeouts and just 19 walks in 117 2/3 innings.“I kind of noticed it towards the beginning of the season, (in) one of our first games — just my rise ball felt really good.

Some mechanical work I was doing just really paid off,” Berent said. “But I think throughout the season, I progressively got better and aust working on attacking the batter and just getting ahead and then finishing them when I got to 0-2.”Berent was no slouch at the plate either.

She hit .388 with three home runs and a 1.205 OPS.

Berent ended her high school career with a 63-18 record and a 1.18 ERA. She struck out 781 batters in 488 innings.

She also hit .454 with 18 home runs.The Cardinal Gibbons star will continue her career on the West Coast at Stanford.

She will be a pitcher for a Cardinal program that has won 40 or more games the last three seasons.“I’m excited to just get out there and work,” Berent said. “I have an amazing coaching staff.

I think we have four or five All-American honors (on) just our coaching staff. So I’m excited to get out there a