Softball
By: Steve Feitl
The Cardinal softball team’s state tile hopes ended the same way they did last year — with a second-round loss against Wall May 25.
But coach Keith Fithen recognized a tremendous amount of improvement surrounding his Lawrence squad, which finished the year 16-7.
“We tied the school record for wins with 16 and improved to the Mercer County Tournament semifinals,” Fithen observed. “We also moved closer to a conference title. There were a lot of positives.
“We were never out of any game,” he continued. “We showed we were a competitive team and a competitive program. I think we gave the seniors good memories from Lawrence High School.”
Of the five graduating seniors, the team will miss each of them who contributed in distinct fashions this year.
At the top of that list is senior Lauren Bunn, the Colonial Valley Conference runs batted in leader with 31. She also led the team in batting with a plump .417 average.
Julia Ham batted .286 in her senior year — a year in which she faced great respect from opposing pitchers, according to Fithen. He noted how Ham was pitched around more than any other Cardinal this year.
Another senior whose bat will be missed is Allison Markowsky. Fithen credited her with improving on her RBIs this season and producing every time she got the call.
Fithen had similar praise for senior Melody Correa, who was able to fill in with quality at-bats and minutes.
Finally, The Cardinals will be without Jen Dalle Pazze, who missed nine games early in the season due to illness. When she came back, batted over .300 with 11 hits in 42 at-bats. Fithen said she deserved recognition as one of best shortstops in county.
But even without those contributions, the Lawrence softball future looks bright. The Cardinals expect to return nine players from this season’s 16-win squad.
Included in the group will be Kelly Mangini, who came in third in the conference in RBIs with 22 and led the team (along with Bunn) with 30 hits.
The Cardinals will also be confident on the mound with the return of junior Ashley Kenyon. She threw three no-hitters and nine shutouts this year, while striking out 134 batters in 133 innings. Her ERA remained a minuscule 0.64.
Lawrence also has Kim Grochala waiting in the wings. She went 2-0 this year, filling in when the schedule got rough.
“There were a lot of positives this year and with nine players returning, we’ll have quality and continue to put out a great product next year,” Fithen said.