By Tim Morris
The Shore Conference has another softball team to be concerned about: Marlboro High School.
The Mustangs are emerging as one of the conference’s best teams by backing up last year’s breakthrough 16-7 season with a strong start to 2016.
After making steady improvement under head coach Nick Scalzo, Marlboro enjoyed unprecedented success in 2015 by picking up signature victories in the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Central Jersey, Group IV tournaments that announced its arrival as a team to be taken seriously.
Once a team has a season like Marlboro had, the challenge is to back it up and prove it wasn’t just a fortuitous one year. Thus far, the Mustangs are proving they are here to stay.
“The kids are not going to be complacent. They have goals and with our talent and heart, I think they can really make some noise now and at the end of the year,” Scalzo said. “We are where we thought we would be at this stage of the season.
“[It was] a little disappointing losing to Middletown North (April 18) and Middletown South (April 6), but they are two quality teams and we played well with them. We hope to get them the second time around. I think we are getting better each day and still have not hit our stride yet this season. ”
Marlboro (8-2) has been playing well in all facets of the game, Scalzo pointed out.
“We have been hitting the ball extremely well with 10 home runs and 100 hits and a team batting average of .366,” Scalzo said. “Defensively, we are solid, and [Kaleigh] Oplinger had been great keeping us in every game, recording seven wins and 55 strikeouts thus far.”
Alex DiGrande and Macie Ditillo are having very big seasons, pacing the potent offensive attack. Both are juniors.
Ditillo is closing in on 100 career hits, which would make her just the second Mustang to reach that milestone — teammate Bonnie Picone, a senior, reached that mark last year. She is leading the Mustangs in RBIs with 20 and has five doubles, a triple and two home runs while batting .424.
DiGrande is batting .433 with four home runs and 14 RBIs.
Infielder/pitcher Lindsey Fhima has three home runs, 13 RBIs and is batting .393.
Jenny Frometa has caught fire and is batting .500, and Jessica Zwerin is at .407.
Phoebe Li and Ditillo share the team lead in runs scored with 12.
Marlboro’s upcoming schedule includes home Shore Conference A North Division games with Manalapan High School (April 28) and Howell High School (May 2) and at Freehold Township High School (May 4) before hosting Middletown High School North in their rematch May 5. The Lions are 7-0 in A North and 11-1 overall.
The date of the Mustangs’ second game with Middletown High School South is not yet determined. The Eagles are 6-1 in A North and 7-2 overall.
Marlboro could be in for a great month of softball in May with plenty of big games if Scalzo’s expectation of the team improving every day comes to fruition.
Howell (4-6) and Freehold Township (4-5) have postseason ambitions as well.
Howell’s offense has been among the best in the Shore. Haylie Barnes has 20 hits and is batting .526 with 12 RBIs and 12 runs scored. Vivian Montgomery also has 20 hits with a team-high 13 RBIs and is batting .465. Stephanie Maxson is batting .351 and is among the Shore Conference leaders in home runs with five this year. Bridget Coulahan has scored a team-high 13 runs and has 12 RBIs. She hit three home runs while batting .371.
The Patriots are hovering around .500 because they have made the most of their hits and have played well in the field behind starter Renee Marcinczuk, who is a control pitcher.
Nicole Baptista is batting .517. Other leading hitters are Sydney Rathsmith, who has the most RBIs (nine) and is batting .333; Kayla Pscolka, who is is batting .308 with a team-best eight runs scored; and Kiersten Withstandly, who is batting .320.
Colts Neck High School, which plays in the B North Division, also has its sights set on the postseason with a 5-4 record thus far. The Cougars have made big strides this spring, scoring a big win over Ocean Township High School, 13-12.
Senior Jamie DiMarijo, junior Olivia Hankash and sophomore Erica Attanasio have fueled an offense that has been explosive at times.