Wellington pitcher Tori Payne was not leaving the pitcher’s circle.

The Wolverines star pitched all 12 innings Wellington played in two games at states. When she was done, the Wolverines had the first softball title in school history.

“(It is) hard to put into words,” Payne said. “Just incredibly proud of this team and just an amazing moment, honestly.”

Payne excelled in the circle and at the plate in her senior season, and she is the Sun Sentinel Palm Beach County large-schools player of the year.

Payne and the Wolverines got to Longwood for the state tournament and promptly routed Sarasota 15-0 in the state semifinal. Payne went 1 for 1 with three walks and an RBI double. She pitched four shutout innings, striking out four batters.

The next day was tougher. Set to face Oviedo Hagerty in the title game, both teams had to wait hours for rain to subside. When they finally took the field, the Wolverines took a first-inning lead. Hagerty tied the game in the third before Wellington scored a pair of runs in the bottom half of that inning.

Hagerty scored a pair of runs off Payne in both the sixth and seventh innings to force extra innings before the Wolverines won the game in the bottom of the eighth.

Payne was on the mound for all of it, pitching all eight innings, giving up five runs and striking out two. She went 3 for 3 at the plate with an RBI.

“We battled all the way through,” Payne said. “Had to fight through the weather delay going past midnight into Sunday, winning that game. All of us (came) together and just (bonded) in that moment to come out with that win.”

Payne ended her final season at Wellington with a .426 batting average and a team-leading 1.278 OPS. She tied for the team lead with four home runs and notched 19 RBIs. She also had eight stolen bases.

In the circle, Payne had a 16-2 record with a 1.05 ERA, striking out 125 batters in 113 1/3 innings.

Payne is staying in-state to play at the next level, signing to play at UCF.

“From the moment I stepped on campus, I loved Orlando,” Payne said. “I loved the coaches. I love the atmosphere there and it’s just somewhere that I saw where I belonged.”