New Egypt filling positions ahead of softball season

NEW EGYPT

By WAYNE WITKOWSKI
Correspondent

Three starting positions need to be filled on New Egypt High School’s defending state champion softball team, but the returning starters will play different spots as coach Kevin English shuffles his lineup during preseason workouts.

The pitching also has a new look with starters Faith Weber, a junior, and freshman Chloe Lewis. Their power pitching resembles the hard serves years ago of Emily Bausher, who is off to another great start in her senior season at Lehigh University after leading the Warriors to the Group I state championship, and Alison Martin, who pitched on another state title team three seasons ago. Weber and Lewis will replace Jenna Rodriguez, who handled the bulk of the pitching last season before embarking on a college career at Franklin Pierce University. Rodriguez was backed by a sharp-fielding defense that made a first-inning run stand up in a 1-0 victory over Butler High School for the NJSIAA Group I championship, New Egypt’s fourth overall and third in five years in a 17-7 season.

Also graduated are shortstop Jamie Soles, who is at the University of Hartford, and Amber Steen, who is at Burlington County College. Soles batted .500 and had 20 RBIs — one fewer than Steen.

“We’re going back to more of a power pitcher style,” said English, whose team opens its season April 2 at Delran High School. “We’re transitioning players to positions they had not played before, and power pitchers can help that by manipulating where the ball is put in play. It also means more strikeouts, which means less plays needed in the field.”

English said the Warriors “will be good” and contend in the Burlington County Scholastic League Liberty Division, a division with many larger enrollment schools where New Egypt was moved last season.

“We have a lot of talent and have had a lot of reps and time for people to get comfortable,” English said. “We have some pretty good bats. It’s comparable to that 2010 team but not the same power, but we’re not lacking there.”

The team also has some pretty good speed, he said, which could win close games.

“We have a lot more speed than ever,” English said.

Weber, who played first base last year and comes off a solid basketball season for the division championship team, is back at first base where she played some last year. She’ll share that spot with Lewis, depending on who pitches. Senior Sarah LoRicco is also back at second base. Senior Danelle Lewis, Chloe’s older sister, played in the outfield last year, as did sophomore catcher Gabby Medina and sophomore third baseman Rebecca Lombardo.

Sophomore Meagan Smith is back in center field and is one of the hefty hitters English referred to as she goes from leadoff to the No. 3 spot in the batting order behind Lombardo and LoRicco. The other two outfield spots are still a tossup among four players, and the one who does not start in the outfield will probably be the extra hitter. They include juniors Kristen Homeny and Sam Goetz and sophomores Alyssa Varriello and Kylie Hatt, whose older brother, Quentin, excelled on the baseball team the past few seasons before graduating last spring.