Building off of last year’s success, the varsity softball team is off to a strong start with an impressive 4-1 record.
The team kicked off their season with a dominant 10-0 victory over Greens Farms Academy. Freshman pitcher Alexis Nisyrios pitched a no-hitter and hit a home run to help the team secure the victory. Head Coach Jason Bradley praised the entire team for their strong performance. “We controlled the game from start to finish,” he said. This first game was important for the team not only to show off their skills, but also practice playing together as a group.
This year, the team has welcomed five Middle School players, giving them an extremely young roster. Coach Bradley spoke about the importance of the team learning how to play cohesively, despite their age differences. “We have a very young team,” he said. “We have the talent, but we absolutely have to become a team.” To accomplish this goal, the team has relied on their captains, junior catcher Olivia Gallup and senior outfielder Sophia Radmanovich, to help everyone get accustomed to the team.
Radmanovich is the team’s only senior, and Coach Bradley complimented the attitude she brings everyday to the field. “She brings a calm demeanor to everything,” he said. “Her emotion level is great, so she never gets too excited or too down, which is important in a captain.” This season, Radmanovich has maintained a 0.643 batting average and leads the team in hits.
While some may view the team’s youth as a challenge, Assistant Coach Kirsten Skinner views it as one of their greatest strengths. “Looking forward, having such young talents and being able to keep them for four, five, six years is only gonna help us grow,” she said.
Along with building team chemistry, the team has set a goal for this season to win the Founders League for the second year in a row. To help them accomplish this, the coaches have set a standard for each player to get 3% better over the course of the season by bringing their best effort to practices and games. During practices, the team focuses on running through game-like scenarios and allowing everyone, especially the newer players, to get reps in.
These practices seemed to pay off as the team found great success in their next few games. On Friday, April 5, they defeated Taft 10-0 and added a 13-3 win over Ethel Walker on Wednesday, April 10. Against Taft, eighth-grader Remi Rosado had a double and single and combined with Nisyrios for a pitching shutout. This season, Nisyrios has given up no earned runs and has 22 strikeouts in the 11 innings she has pitched.
The team’s biggest challenge of the season so far was facing off against Choate Rosemary Hall, one of the toughest competitors in the Founder’s League. Despite a valiant effort, the team fell short, losing 6-2. “We knew our Choate game was an important game in the Founders league,” Radmanovich said. “Despite an unexpected head injury to our pitcher during warmups, we were able to quickly adjust and stay focused throughout the game.”
Looking ahead, the team certainly has a tough schedule, as they will take on Westminster and St. Luke’s in the upcoming weeks. “We play one of the harder schedules in the Western New England league, so we’ll have plenty of opportunities to have good showings,” Coach Bradley said. We wish the team the best of luck with the rest of their season!
