SOFTBALL
By: Mike Molaro
It definitely wasn’t the way Keith Fithen and the Lawrence High School softball squad wanted to start their 2006 season.
Despite allowing just seven hits Monday in the wind and rain, the Cardinals were sloppy in the field and surrendered numerous walks as Notre Dame took a 31-1 victory in the opener for both teams.
With Lawrence’s top pitcher, freshman Angela Parascando, out with pneumonia, and their backup pitcher sitting out the game because of disciplinary reasons, the Cardinals were forced to go to their freshman junior varsity hurler, Sasha McDowell.
It was an uphill battle for the rookie freshman, who debuted in a wet and windy opener against a tough Irish team. Fithen knew he threw the freshman into a tough situation, but felt she showed a lot of guts and handled the situation even when her pitches were off.
The Irish took advantage of her wildness and Lawrence’s miscues and made the most of their seven hits.
Lawrence, which had just two hits, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a single to right field by freshman outfielder Ashley Russo, her stolen base, and an error. After that, it was all ND. The Cardinals’ other hit was a single in the top of the fourth by senior outfielder Danny Brooks.
The Cardinals will try to put this game behind them and keep moving forward.
"Pitching is key in the Colonial Valley Conference, and we didn’t have it today," said Fithen, who returns to the program after retiring three years ago. "We gave up way too many walks and our pitcher wasn’t consistent enough to throw strikes. This was a good opportunity to show us what she has. She is third on our pitching depth chart. It was unfortunate she couldn’t come through for us.
"Notre Dame is a good team and we are a young team. We made a lot of mistakes. We had about four or five dropped balls that should’ve been caught. We only gave up seven hits but we had a lot of drops and too many walks. We have to forget about this game and move on. It’s only one game."
The Cardinals are hoping this game will prove to be a character builder for a team trying to forge an identity in the
always tough Colonial Valley Conference.
"We were hit with some adversity this week," added Fithen. "Our pitcher didn’t get the job done, but we didn’t help her in the field. We’ve got to pick it up and keep going, and we will.
"We didn’t do a good job of stepping up. I didn’t want to sacrifice anybody by putting people in positions they weren’t comfortable with. We started only three seniors and played seven underclassmen. We will get better. This wasn’t a good way to start, but we have 25 games remaining."
Lawrence’s opportunity to get things back in order began yesterday (Wednesday) in its home opener against West Windsor-Plainsboro North and continues this afternoon while hosting Hamilton.
The Cardinals are confident they quickly can get into the victory column.
"We need to work on a lot of things," Fithen said. "We’ll see how the girls respond. We will have one of our two top pitchers back for North. I scouted North last week and we can beat them. Hamilton is down this year. If we play our type of softball, we can take both games."
Fithen, who is still instilling his philosophy into the program, wants his girls to forget about the Notre Dame game but take away some valuable lessons.
"The Irish were on their game," he said. "We were prepared but not ready to play. We weren’t prepared for the weather and that is very disappointing. ND handled the cold better than we did. Things didn’t work out for us today. There are things we need to work on and we will work on them until we get them right."
It definitely is an educational process for the Cardinals as they literally are learning on the run.
"I came on board in the middle of preseason," added Fithen. "I put in my system. The girls are still learning and picking things up."Notre Dame is strong in every position and they have a plan every time they come up to bat. They are polished. We need to see that to strive for that. We saw our weaknesses and will work on it."
After the North and Hamilton games, Lawrence leaves for Florida and its annual Walt Disney World trip Sunday. The Cardinals face Neenah High (WI) on April 10 and have a double header on April 12 against Norristown High (PA) and LaCrosse Central (WI).That time will be put to good use as Lawrence will see different competition and also have an opportunity to continue learning Fithen’s system.
"The team is looking forward to this trip," Fithen said. "It’s a great chance for me to bond with the girls."
As far as Monday’s game is concerned, it’s over and done with.
"The score doesn’t matter," added Fithen. "A loss is a loss. It’s not how your start, it’s how you finish. We’ll keep working and we’ll keep improving."

