FLORENCE: Florence softball off to good start

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   Replacing their top pitcher, Emily Million, was a major question coming into the Florence High softball season, but it’s been the hitting that has been the biggest surprise.
   ”I thought we’d be in most of the games,” said Florence head coach George Chwastyk. “I think our pitching has come along. I think with Emily and her sister (Carey, who transferred to Hun School), we lost a lot of hitting, but the kids have picked up a lot of the slack and worked it out that they were going to hit the ball.”
   Florence improved to 5-0 with an 8-1 win over previously unbeaten Riverside last Thursday.
   ”They were 6-0, and I told them that they would be a team that they’re going to have to get up for and play,” Chwastyk said. “They came out right from the start hitting the ball. Dezi Filmyer had a triple and Rachael Levach had a double and Melissa Blackwell had a nice single.
   ”The way we’ve been swinging the bats is the biggest surprise. It’s up and down the lineup. They’ve kind of taken turns having good days.”
   The year started in promising fashion with a 3-2 win over Delran. Florence didn’t get the deciding run until the sixth inning and then held off Delran for the comeback win behind the arm of Sydney Worek, who is splitting pitching duties with Shannon Sweeney. Both are juniors.
   ”That was our first game, and it gave them a lot of confidence to play later on,” Chwastyk said. “Sydney threw a very nice game. We had some clutch hitting and defense.”
   As promising as the start has been, Chwastyk is looking at this week as another big test for his Flashes. They have four games this week, including Holy Cross scheduled for Tuesday, Burlington Township scheduled for Wednesday before Cinnaminson today and Westhampton Tech on Friday.
   ”Two are in our league and two are bigger schools outside of our league,” Chwastyk said. “It’ll be a trying week, but I have the two pitchers ready to go. They’ll go every other game.”
   And if the hitting continues the way it has, there won’t be as much pressure on the pitchers trying to carry the torch for Million in the circle.
   ”I thought we’d lose a lot of power with the sister going,” Chwastyk said. “But Rachael Levach is hitting the ball hard. Gina Bruno is hitting the ball hard. We do have some power in the lineup. I’m surprised with Rachael. Being a freshman, she’s going to blossom into a very nice ball player.”
   The hitting and pitching have combined for a great start to the year. Chwastyk knows just what to expect from his team after a couple weeks of seeing how they react in different situations. The Flashes are set up for a big push forward as they try to return to the Central Jersey Group I title game.
   ”I’m pretty comfortable who’s playing where and what they’re capable of doing,” Chwastyk said. “They don’t give up. They’ve been down a couple games, but they’ve come back with some runs.
   ”It’s an encouraging nice group,” he added. “It’s a nice mix of senior kids and younger kids.”