Team brings experience to District 12 tournament
By: Rich Fisher
About 11 months ago, Russ Nelson was already talking about this year.
Now it’s here, and Nelson and his Cranbury-Plainsboro 12-year-old District 12 softball team can’t wait.
The reason Nelson was so excited last year, is he knew he’d have an experienced team coming back this season. The locals will see how that experience pans out when they open Pool A play Wednesday with an 8 p.m. home game against Millstone-Roosevelt.
"We have eight girls returning who played as 11-year-olds," said Nelson, who is back for his second year as skipper. "They’ve been playing with each other for three years, so we’re looking for them to do some nice things."
The roster features Kimberly Arnold (OF), Juliette Brooks (OF/C), Gina Chiarolancio (OF), Maddy Copeland (P/3B), Tiffany Gagliardo (1B), Abby Gross (OF/C), Kristina Leung (OF/2B), Regina Lopez (OF/1B), Kaitlyn Nelson (P/3B), Nicole Powell (SS), Sara Rosenthal (OF), Adrienne Solomon (OF), Amy Spina (2b) and Hannah Zink (C ).
Arnold, Brooks, Copeland, Gagliardo, Nelson, Powell, Spina and Zink all return from last year. There are also two new 12-year-olds on the team along with six 11-year-olds. Powell, Zink and Copeland are from Cranbury, with the remainder from Plainsboro.
"We have our core infield back from last year, except for Carly O’Brien," Nelson said. "But Nikki Powell will take over the role at shortstop. She should be a foundation in the infield. She’s a great player, a good hitter . . . kind of like Carly."
Pitching is the key, of course, and Nelson and Copeland both have experience in the circle.
"It’s nice to have them both back," Nelson said. "I think defensively, we’ll be solid. The girls are getting bigger this year and they’re starting to hit. Last year we didn’t score many runs, which was a bit of a problem for us. This year they should be better at that."
After Wednesday’s game, C-P plays Allentown in Bordentown at 6 p.m. Thursday, meets Bordentown at Millstone-Roosevelt 3 p.m. July 2 and plays New Egypt in Bordentown 5 p.m. July 4.
"We’re hoping to get out of pool play again, and we’re hoping to win a few games in the bracket," said Nelson, whose squad went 2-2 in pool play last year before losing two straight in bracket play. "West Windsor is used to winning, they’re probably the favorites, and I think Washington is going to be tough. They’re hungry, they’re looking to make a run."
As for his team, Nelson said. "They’re raring to go. I think they’re getting tired of practicing, they’re ready to start playing games."