DELRAY BEACH — Last week, when American Heritage softball ace pitcher Aubrey Wurst made her return 36 days after having a “basketball-sized” tumor from her abdomen, she struck out 14 and pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Suncoast.

It was like she never left.

This week, however, wasn’t nearly as smooth for the sophomore who was named a top-10 national pitching prospect by recruiting services earlier this season.

On the eve of the District 13-3A semifinal, Wurst felt sick but powered through and led her team to a tense 1-0 victory against Lincoln Park Academy. She pitched a three-hitter and struck out 14.

In the final on a warm Thursday night — on one day of rest — she lacked sharpness and labored through the early innings. Coupled with some defensive miscues, the Stallions trailed Clewiston for most of the game. But Wurst helped her cause with a two-run single in the fourth inning, and she found a second wind in the circle.

Then her teammates, who had struggled offensively, broke through in the sixth with a three-run rally that propelled the Stallions to a 5-4 victory and a berth in state playoffs, which will begin Wednesday.

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In the bottom of the sixth, Morgan Katz led off with a double. One out later, Giada Napolitano hit an RBI triple. The next batter, seventh-grader Gracyn Needle, ripped a game-tying single and wound up on third after Clewiston’s center fielder misplayed it. The next batter, Lucy Jacobowitz, singled in the go-ahead run.

Wurst needed 95 pitches to get through the first five innings. She threw a first-pitch ball to seven of her first 12 batters. She allowed only three hits and struck out 15, but walked four and threw two wild pitches.

“I was definitely not 100 percent on my game,” Wurst said.

That statement also applied to most of her teammates in the early innings. The Stallions couldn’t get a hit off Tigers starter Ryland Polhill until the fourth inning. Clewiston (7-13) scored the opening run in the second inning with the help of a passed ball, took a 3-0 lead on an error in the fourth, and pushed its lead to 4-2 when American Heritage (7-8) dropped back-to-back popups in the fifth.

At that point, Wurst found her groove. A line-drive double play ended the fifth, and she struck out five of her final six batters.

“I think I was maybe just a little too excited, possibly,” Wurst said. “I was trying to calm myself down. I was focusing on using my curves and screws, and that was really helping me.

“It didn’t get frustrating because my girls are always trying their absolute best, and I had breaks in between innings that were helping me.”

In the early innings, Wurst kept missing high with her fastball. Her coach, Janae King, attributed it to her “pulling off her back leg a little bit.”

“[She was just] trying to force it. She’s like a racehorse, she wants to run. But sometimes you’ve got to hold them back a little bit, get control and then make your move. And she did. She got better as the game went on.”

The Stallions went 2-4 in Wurst’s absence, and their sub-.500 record put them in a position where they would not have made the playoffs had they not won the district championship.

King said learning about Wurst’s diagnosis in early March “was like a gut punch. Just because I know how much she loves this game and how important she is to our team, and just what she brings to the team -- her heart, her desire, her poise on the mound, her leadership.”

“It wasn’t just losing our pitcher, we lost our heart. That’s what it felt like.”

Wurst continued to pitch with the tumor until a few days before the surgery on March 22.

“Once I was cleared to do light exercises, I instantly hit my gym with my trainer, and he tailored exercises so that I wasn’t using my abs, so it didn’t hurt me,” Wurst said. “So I was getting my arms and legs back stronger to where they were. Once I was cleared to play, I was back into abs, and I started pitching again, and then it took about a week and a half to get into my pitching groove.”

While she worked to get back into playing shape, Wurst not only took on the role of cheerleader for her team, but also as a scout for King, a former UCLA player who is new to the Florida travel softball scene.

“She just knows the game so much that she’s just a wealth of information. … She knows inside out these players and where they go, and where they hit and what they’re strengths are and what their weaknesses are. She’s like my little softball encyclopedia.”

After taking turns with Wurst posing with the district championship trophy, King looked ahead to the state tournament and couldn’t help but admire Wurst’s determination.

“She’s coming back after having a really brutal surgery. And she didn’t skip a beat. That’s who she is. She’s a gamer.

“I can’t wait to see what she does. There’s no stopping her. She’s unstoppable.”

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: American Heritage's Aubrey Wurst inspires in Stallions' district title