By: Lance Manion
The South Brunswick softball team had three players earn All-Greater Middlesex Conference recognition, but if Vikings coach Danielle Matlack had her way all 10 starters would’ve been chosen.
"I don’t like singling out any one player," said Matlack, whose squad finished 20-4 and captured a share of the GMC Red Division this spring. "It really was a 10-player effort, and we also got some contributions from the kids on the bench. They always say you’re only good as the weakest part, and every kid had a role in this."
The Vikings certainly were good as they reeled off 16-straight games before falling short of their goals in the postseason. South Brunswick was seeded second in the GMC Tournament, but bowed out in the quarterfinals to a Colonia team that would go on to win the county title.
As the No. 3 seed in the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tournament, the Vikings were shutout by Hillsborough in the semifinals.
"I don’t think we peaked too soon," Matlack said. "I just think we didn’t play as many games toward the end of the season. If you remember, we were playing three, four games a week and just kept going, going, going, but then we were playing only one or two games (in a week) and we just got a little flat."
While Matlack was disappointed by the ending, she was more than satisfied with the end result.
"Twenty and four is certainly something to be proud of," the seventh-year coach said. "Being co-champs of the Red Division isn’t an easy thing to do, especially with traditional powers like J.P. (Stevens) and Edison in there."
Asked to pinpoint the difference from last season, when the Vikings’ won 13 games and finished in the middle of the GMC Red, Matlack said "experience and maturity, basically."
Eight seniors helped form one of Middlesex County’s top offensive lineups, and Sara Steepy made the most of her run support in the pitcher’s circle. Steepy, a senior right-hander, finished 20-4 with a microscopic 0.91 ERA while striking out 169 in 169 innings.
The GMC shutout leader with 10, Steepy yielded only 105 hits, but the most impressive stat in Matlack’s eyes were her walks total.
"To only give up 13 walks in 24 games, I just think that’s phenomenal," Matlack said. "Especially in a sport where walks always seem to come back to hurt you. It just shows she didn’t shoot herself in the foot."
For her efforts, Steepy was picked to the All-GMC team and was joined by teammates Alicia Langone and Stephanie Zucker. Zucker was the Vikings’ table setter, batting .370 with 27 hits and seven walks from the top of the order. The outfielder also contributed seven runs and seven RBI this spring.
Langone proved to be one of the GMC’s top sluggers as she blasted a team-high five homers while driving in 20 runs and scoring 11 times. The Caldwell-bound catcher also batted .365 with three triples while compiling a lofty .662 slugging percentage. Yet, the Vikings were far from a three-player team. The lineup was balanced one-through-nine, with Ramapo-bound Courtney Breese, Jackie Abdalla, Chailee Godinez, Jess Mastronardi and Amanda Ryan contributing on a daily basis.
While Matlack isn’t looking forward to having to replace her eight seniors, she was all too happy to watch them excel this spring.
"The seniors played together for a long time," Matlack said. "They deserved to have the kind of season we had."
