The New Jersey Cheetahs Premier Under-18 softball team out of Allentown won the Northeast Regional and finished fifth at the nationals this summer. Abby Stroud went from the depth of disappointment and frustration to the heights of exhilaration in a span of a few weeks, as she is about to embark on a college career playing softball at St. Joseph’s University.
Stroud, who was in the midst of a superb season as the No. 1 pitcher and first baseman at Allentown High School, sprained her left ankle sliding into a base during a late-April game against Lawrence High School. It sidelined her for 10 games, which Allentown split and finished 14-10. After she returned in three weeks, Allentown dropped its Mercer County and state tournament openers.
“It’s much better now. I had to wear a brace but took it off playing in games,” Stroud said of the ankle.
Stroud bounced back to pitch and play first base over the summer for the New Jersey Cheetahs Under-18 Premier team that finished fifth in the PGF Nationals July 24- 31 in Huntington Beach, California. The Cheetahs lost in the playback round to the SoCal Firecrackers of Lakewood, California — a team it beat earlier in the tournament, with both games decided by 1-0 scores.
The Cheetahs went 8-2 in the nationals, taking their other loss to the SoCal Brakers, 4-3, in extra innings.
The finish earned the Cheetahs an automatic bid to return to the PGF Nationals, which invites back the top six finishers.
Before that this summer, the Cheetahs 18U Premier swept all nine games to win the Northeast National Tournament at Randalls Island, New York, that invited more than 60 teams, and the team started the summer with a third-place finish in the Open Division of the Colorado Fireworks showcase in Aurora June 29-July 5, reaching the semifinals before losing, 5-2, to the eventual champion.
“This was an amazing accomplishment for our organization,” Cheetahs 18U Premier manager and program founder and president David Dominici said.
But Dominici and his players were particularly inspired by the team’s overall showing over the summer.
“Those are the three biggest tournaments of the summer and [the players] were absolutely magnificent — by far the best they’ve ever done,” Dominici said. “From what I understand, this is the best an East Coast team has ever done playing a schedule limited to part of the year outside (California teams and others along the West Coast have favorable weather year-round for playing outside).
“I’m 100 percent convinced [our success] is from all the hard work and training in practice and their work [during the winter] in the indoor facility [in Hamilton].”
Stroud did her part through pitching, playing first base and delivering timely hitting.
“I thought it was the best summer I ever had,” Stroud said. “In the winter, we all knew we had to carry it on at the end of tournaments, and we won New York and finished fifth in the nationals. Next year, the people there have to push themselves and continue the tradition at a higher level (Stroud will play with the Cheetahs Under- 23 team with college players). I pushed myself working hard training with [assistant coach] Tracey Lombardi and understood that I need the team as much as they need me.”
Stroud said her injury in the spring brought some of that to her attention more and helped her prepare even better in her conditioning for the summer season.
“I wanted to play and couldn’t play. It was so frustrating,” said Stroud, who was out for three weeks but said she helped the team by relaying signals from the dugout on what pitcher Kayla Peterson and other pitchers were to pitch. “I had to work my way back and had to run more and worked out more. It was a reality check. Once the injury happened, I knew I had to step up my game.”
Stroud’s best pitch was her drop ball, but she also threw a curveball and a screwball. She said neither hitting nor pitching is getting primary attention and as she heads into fall workouts at St. Joseph’s — where she will rejoin former teammate Alex Dominici, who pitches for St. Joseph’s but was out this spring with an injury.
“It’s my mental game,” Stroud said of her emphasis. “Playing [NCAA Division I], it will be harder for me, and they’ll want more from me. Pitching-wise, I have to be smart with hitters and make things happen.”
Stroud said she expects to get an opportunity to play first base but was low key on how much pitching she’ll do at the outset. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help my team,” Stroud said.
She did that for the Cheetahs.
“Pitching and defense was outstanding over the summer,” Dominici said.
That pitching staff includes the Shore Player of the Year this past spring, Ashley Ventura of St. John Vianney High School, who also is headed to St. Joseph’s and moves up to the 23U team, as well as returning 18U Premier players Amanda Ferlisi, a Hamilton resident who played for Note Dame High School, and Madison Aughinbaugh of Maryland, a rising high school senior headed next fall to Fordham University on a financial package.
“With those four, we were really something,” Dominici said. “With all that pitching, we had fresh legs, and we were very confident whoever we put out there would do the job. Ashley Ventura showed herself to be one of the best pitchers in the country and, by far, the best in New Jersey.”
Shortstop Ragen Reddick, a recent graduate of Bishop George Ahr High School headed to Seton Hall University, led the team in hitting along with Ferlisi, Isabel “Bell” Manning of North Hunterdon, who is committed to Georgia Tech; third baseman Christina Misiur, who will start her senior year this fall at Sayreville War Memorial High School; and center fielder Arielle Couso of Hillsborough High School, who is heading to Rutgers University this fall.
Another formidable hitter was catcher Alex Colon of Houston, Texas, who is going to Princeton University. Colon would fly out on a regular basis on weekends for practices in Allentown and join the team for tournaments along with third baseman Lauren Holdsworth of Michigan, who will attend Eastern Michigan University.
Two others who helped for Cheetahs were catcher Kyleigh Norris, a rising senior at Toms River High School South, and second baseman Erica Krumbine of St. John Vianney. Both accepted financial packages to Wagner College.
That wasn’t the only Cheetahs team enjoying success. The other 18U team, renamed Cheetah Gold, won six of 10 games in Colorado playing with the 18U Premier team. Allentown High School varsity players Brianna McGowan, a catcher, and Carly Bailey, a utility player, were leading contributors.
New Jersey Cheetahs 16U had a winning summer behind pitcher Heather Devine of Allentown and catcher/corner infielder Courtney Skolka, outfielder Brandi Carrion, middle infielder Carli Backlund and catcher/outfielder Emily Bloom. The Cheetahs 14U won three tournaments competing against New Jersey teams, and the top players included Allentown’s Mikayla Harrill, who played for the junior varsity team in the spring, Kerri McCarthy and outfielder Grace Dawson, an incoming freshman at Allentown. It won the Summer Shore League, as did the Cheetahs 12U in its age group.
The 12U team also was co-champion of the Hopewell Valley Tournament and was loaded with players from Allentown, including Emily Zuppa, Ashley Jones, Carley Noble, Ava Merias, Jessica Lyons and Kaylee Mushinski.
This fall, Allentown again is hosting its Cheetahs Oktoberfest for the fourth year in the 18U and 16U age divisions on Sept. 25- 26 and also will add 14U and 12U brackets. All games will be played at Allentown High School. The 18U and 16U summer tournament that was successful back in June will be held again next year for the fourth year, but Dominici said it, too, will add 14U and 12U tournaments.