Sarstedt looks to continue opening-day success on mound
By: Justin Feil
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High South softball season got off to the kind of start that Taryn Sarstedt and her experienced teammates had hoped for.
She just wishes that her 18th birthday had gone as well.
Sarstedt, one of nine seniors on the Pirate team, silenced the WW-P North bats in a 15-1 win last Tuesday that was more of a friendly showdown than bitter rivalry.
"It was unusual and it was fun," she said. "There were a lot of girls I’d played with and we’re close to. I’ve known them for a long time. We didn’t have a very competitive outlook because we’re so close to them. But we still went in there as if they’re another team. We had to do our jobs and stay focused. We took them seriously."
WW-PS couldn’t duplicate Tuesday’s offensive firepower when the Pirates lost to Lawrence, 4-0, on Thursday Sarstedt’s birthday but the early signs are still positive.
"This is our last year and I definitely would love to do well," said Sarstedt, who is 1-0 this season heading into Thursday’s 4 p.m. game at home against Hamilton. "I didn’t realize last year how quickly it goes. Now it’s here and I’m a little sad about it.
"We’re definitely feeling better this year. We’re more team-oriented and we all get along. We have the ability to go pretty far. Even the game against Lawrence when we lost, I saw a lot of good things."
Were it not for some first-inning errors that allowed two of the runs, WW-PS might have found a way to make a winner of Nicole Gawlak, its other starting pitcher. Last season, Gawlak and Sarstedt rotated at starting pitcher and the plan for this year isn’t much different.
"Taryn came on toward the end of the season last year," said second-year head coach George Agalias. "I don’t know if we’ll rotate them the same exact way we did. We’re still not sure.
"I consider a lot of the characteristics that aren’t evident on the mound, a lot of the intangibles you can’t measure. Both of them have their own strengths."
Sarstedt, whom Agalias describes as a faster worker than Gawlak on the mound, worked this summer and in the fall to develop a better change-up so she’ll be a more complete pitcher. It paid off for her against WW-PN, as she held the Knights hitless over the final four innings, giving her the confidence to use it in the future more.
"I’m definitely going to use my off-speed pitches more this year to confuse the batters as much as I can," said Sarstedt, who pitches for the West Windsor Wildcats 18-and-under team as well. "I didn’t really use it that much last year. I worked on it in the preseason a lot and Mr. Agalias really likes it when we use our change-up. It’s actually worked a lot more than I thought it would. I have more confidence to throw it now."
Sarstedt would like to return to the mound Thursday to face Hamilton, just one of the tough teams in the Colonial Valley Conference this season. Hamilton was off to a 3-0 start going into Monday’s action.
"They run a lot, they bunt a lot," Sarstedt said. "If we could beat them, that would be awesome. There are a bunch of teams like Steinert and Nottingham and Notre Dame that are real good teams. I would love to beat them because last year I don’t think we did. It would be nice to finally get them back."
It is the last go-around for Sarstedt and her senior teammates. Agalias expects the Pirates to be competitive in the CVC, but knows after the first two games that it will take better fielding and more consistent hitting. With Gawlak and Sarstedt, South’s pitching is in good hands. It’s a matter of making the other parts of the Pirates’ game upto their consistency.
"Most of Lawrence’s runs came with bunts that we didn’t field well," Agalias said. "That’s what we had a problem with covering bunts. We’ll work on that. They didn’t really get any big hits. But we didn’t get any big hits. Without the errors, it would have been closer. This team’s going to be competitive. We just have to tighten up the defense.
"When you get up against Lawrence, Steinert, Notre Dame and Hamilton, every area of your game, you have to be well prepared. If you blink, it’s going to cost you. If you have a throwing error or don’t make the right throw in a run-down, it’s going to cost you. We just can’t make mistakes and we’ll be fine."
Sarstedt, who also could see time in the outfield this season, is confident that the Pirates can eliminate their errors to give them a better chance to fulfill their CVC title hopes. It will make it easier for her to concentrate on the mound and improve WW-PS’ chances for a winning season.
"It is frustrating when you’re pitching to have errors," she confirmed. "The pitcher gets credit when you win or lose so you want good fielding. I’m confident that the fielding is going to be consistent. Once we work on bunting and who’s covering what, we’ll be OK. That was basically our first big game (Thursday) and we were getting use to things. We’ll get better."
And that could produce the sort of season ending for which Sarstedt and her teammates are hoping.