For those who may not be aware, softball is more than just a toned-down version of baseball. While the game has been around for almost 120 years (invented in Chicago by a group of Yale and Harvard alumni using a stick for a bat and an old boxing glove as a ball) there is nothing “soft” about softball or the people who play it.
Taking a 12-inch spherical object — made of rubber and cork and compressed down until it is as hard as a nosecone — and then hurling it at someone at speeds of 60 to 70 miles per hour from 40 feet away is hardly a “soft” activity.
While both West Windsor-Plainsboro high school softball programs have not been dominant in the same way the boys and girls tennis teams have been over the years, they have been steadily building on the road to success.
This season both teams have become tougher and are hoping to travel a bit farther along that road. But if that is to become a reality, it will have to be accomplished against the other teams in the Colonial Valley Conference, one of the toughest athletic conferences in New Jersey.
South
Maybe the secret to success has something to do with the sand, sea, and palm trees of Florida. For years the South baseball team has gone down to Florida before the season starts for some intensive training and team bonding. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the South baseball team has some pretty good teams, even challenging for the state title three years ago.
This season, after making the trip south for the first time, the Pirates softball team has started the season with a 7-3 record (5-0 in the CVC) and apparently headed for the state tournament. “Everything went so smoothly in Florida and it was a wonderful experience,” says head coach Kris Zenerovitz, now in her third season at South. “The team was able to really get to know one another and I think that has helped us.” In Florida, South played four games, going 2-2 (beating two teams from New York State).
Matching or improving on last season’s 14-11 record is a prime focus for the team after not making it to the state playoffs the year before. In fact, the Pirates even won the first round in the state playoffs last season, advancing into the second round where they lost to Rancocas Valley — who ended up being the number one team in the state. “Rancocas had a great pitcher last season and we were really glad to have made it far enough to face them,” says Zenerovitz. “At least we didn’t lose to any old team.”
This season’s pitching staff is particularly talented, led by senior Ashley Sarstedt who is adept at tossing the ball where an opposing batter can’t get it. Last year she played mostly centerfield, but had been impressive throwing in the preseason practices. She also plays backup shortstop. In addition Sarstedt has also been the Pirates’ top power hitter, hitting two home runs against Lawrence and following that up with another against Hightstown.
Also seeing pitching time is senior Kate Wyman, the teams regular third baseman, who pitched several years ago and only recently returned to the pitching rubber. “Kate pitched for us down in Florida and really showed us something,” says Zenerovitz. The third pitcher is freshman Alyssa Kelman, who has started the season impressively, going 2-0 (She also plays first base and designated player).
The Pirates also feature an impressive lineup of bats and gloves. Freshman Tory Sharpless is the team’s regular first baseman and a power hitter, hitting a two-run home run late in the game to give South the win over Ewing on April 3. “She has already made a name for herself,” says Zenerovitz. Sharpless has also hit a double, three triples. Liz Huttner, the team’s third freshman, is the team’s regular leftfielder. Crissy Masterangelo, a freshman catcher, has been recently promoted to varsity from the junior varsity team.
Senior Natalie Kirkpatrick is the starting second baseman and hits seventh or eighth in the batting order. “Natalie is very good at putting a bunt down to advance our power hitters, who are one through six in the order,” says Zenerovitz. “We are very fortunate to have a strong offense this year and I have a lot of flexibility as to who I can put in the lineup.” Behind Kirkpatrick in the batting order is usually sophomore Amanda Tereby, moving over to the outfield from last year’s starting catcher position due to knee problems. Becky Peters, a sophomore, plays shortstop. Seniors Kristen DeLarossa play centerfield and Kate Kelman is a part-time right field.
Leadership on a team is often crucial. To that end, Zenerovitz named all five seniors on the team as captains and also created something unique in area sports teams. All five captains serve in an official capacity as mentors to younger players. “Each senior was matched up with specific people,” she says. It’s kind of like a big sister—little sister thing. Initially the girls’ reaction was something like ‘what are you talking about?’ But we tried it to see how it would work and it has made the team more cohesive. When Kate Wyman hit a grand slam, her little sister, Liz Huttner, was almost as excited as Kate was.”
Zenerovitz, who is completing her master’s degree in school counseling from the College of New Jersey in May, has coached the Pirates for three years. She also works in Special Education within the Spanish department at South. She is planning on getting a post-masters certification with the hope of becoming a learning consultant on a child study team. “I love working in special education,” she says. “It is rewarding to go to school every day and be able to work with such wonderful kids. It’s not for everyone, but it is something that is intrinsically valuable to me.”
Zenerovitz is also pleased to be working again this season with junior varsity coach Morty Levine. Zenerovitz coached with Levine at Community Middle School several years ago before taking the head coach job at South. “He knows the game and works really well with the girls,” she says. “He is a great J.V. coach and an all around great guy.” Levine, a former minor league pro baseball player and a retired businessman, has been a mainstay volunteer for the Science Olympiad at Community Middle School as well as the robotics competition at High School North.
While some say that “winning is the only thing,” this season’s Pirates are a prime example of the fact that winning is just one of a number of pleasures of competing in sports. “You get a whole different feeling when you win,” says Zenerovitz. “The girls are laughing and having a good time at the games. They are a great group of athletes and they all get along. They have their inside jokes, and that’s fine. As long as they get along, I don’t mind a bit.”
The Pirates play at home against Princeton on Friday, April 28, at 4 p.m. and then travel to Steinert on Saturday, April 29, at 11 a.m. South then plays two home games, against Trenton (Monday, May 1, at 4 p.m.) and Peddie (Tuesday, May 2, at 4:15 p.m.). The Pirates are on the road again against Lawrence (Wednesday, May 3 at 4 p.m.) and Notre Dame (Thursday, May 4, at 4 p.m.
North
While practice may not make perfect, this year, it may be good enough for the Knights girls’ softball team. And with any luck, the future may be golden. Despite losing the first three games of the season — to High School South, Hopewell Valley, and Lawrenceville Prep — optimism reigned supreme as the Knights were able to hit the practice field and turn in two impressive victories over Hightstown and Princeton.
Although kicking the season off with a 2-3 record may not sound impressive, the Knights’ Jason Petrone, now in his seventh year as head coach, prefers to take a positive point of view. “Sure we started out the season 0-3, with a couple of very ugly losses. I was a little disheartened because it seemed like something was always happening in the games that caused things not to work out for us,” he says. “”But then we scored some runs against Hightstown and held on to win (16-15) and then bombarded Princeton with a bunch of runs and hits (The Knights scored 10 runs in the first inning and beat the Little Tigers 11-1). I’d like to think that I saw my team’s true colors now.”
So far, this season has been a duplication of last season, in which the Knights finished 8-12 despite a 3-1 start. “Around midseason we were 7-5 and in a position to make the state playoffs,” says Petrone. “But then we lost three in a row the team started going down hill and we didn’t make the playoffs.”
The Knights pitching rotation has been something of a question mark. Senior Flynn Eisenman, of whom big things were expected, was plagued with control problems. Freshman Liz Chudzik pitched four innings of no-hit ball against Princeton on her way to her first high school win. Chudzik, although new to the team, is something of a superstar-in-waiting.
She, along with Brianna Taft, are the first players from the multiple state champion West Windsor little league softball all-star squad of the past several years to play high school ball. Her little league team was reminiscent of the 1927 Yankees’ “murderers row,” sometimes demolishing its competition by 40 or 50 runs.
“I think the opening losses were a result of the girls still trying to gel together as a unit,” says Petrone. “With different grade levels on the team, we have people who have never played together before, so it takes a while.”
Eisenman, who has been the team’s top pitcher since her freshman year, is still being counted on to turn in a good season. Despite her pitching woes, she is still a force at the plate and has been the team’s designated player (formerly called a designated hitter).
“We are trying to work Flynn into the outfield a little bit,” says Petrone. “But we think she is going to get her pitching down pat.”
Fellow senior Deanna Cullen is a talented shortstop and one of the best hitters on the squad, batting in the cleanup position. “We think her bat will help us out a lot this year,” says Petrone. The team also has two juniors. Lindsey Gargano, who plays first base, is also one of the team’s better hitters and bats third in the lineup. Despite her small stature, Karlie O’Cone is a dynamo behind the plate and is one of the conference’s hardest working catchers.
Sophomores are also being relied on heavily this season. Hannah Kozsuch has a strong throwing arm and a good glove at right field and Christie Jensen is also in the outfield and occasionally pitches. Catherine Galton, who suffered a concussion playing on her soccer travel squad, is a utility player. Molly Shevlin, who was out all last season with a knee injury, is the starting leftfielder. Danielle Parisi, who plays second base, is also a good hitter and is the team’s leadoff batter. “Danielle hits for power but we are hoping she becomes a little more selective at the plate,” says Petrone. “She doesn’t like to walk. She loves to swing the bat.”
While the annual battle against their cross-district rival is one of the memorable games of almost any season, this year it was something better to forget. North battled South on the opening day of the regular season, losing 5-2.
“It was disappointing loss, but we played decently against them,” says Petrone. “What was more disappointing was the next game against Hopewell. We played in the rain and lost 10-0. That was losing ugly.”
The problem with the early season losses is that they are games that Petrone feels the team could have won. “We really haven’t played a team that was better than us yet,” says Petrone. “We shouldn’t have been dominated by anybody. We haven’t faced any overpowering pitching.”
“I don’t mind losing, but I hate getting shellacked,” says Petrone. “It’s one thing if the girls on the other team start hitting the ball out of the park. Then you take your hat off and say, ‘good game.’ But if we go out there and make errors and walk batters, then we are certainly not playing up to our potential.”
Petrone, who has built the softball program from its inception in 2000, has been impressed with the strides the team has made over the years. He’s hoping for more. “Last season was our best so far and this year we are hoping to have a winning season,” he says. “And in the future, who knows? With the players who are coming up, with what we’ve been reading about in the summer leagues and if we get our share of them and they don’t all go to South or prep schools, we should be able to try and build a winning program.”
The Knights next play at Montgomery on Monday, May 1, at 4 p.m. before playing at home against Trenton (Wednesday, May 3 at 4 p.m.). North then plays at Princeton Day School on Thursday, May 4 at 4:15 p.m. and then heads to Allentown on Friday, May 5, at 4 p.m.
