Like most of its Shore Conference rivals, the Mater Dei High School softball team listed a division championship as its first objective for the season. But running away with the B Central title, and possibly going undefeated within the division? The Seraphs didn’t see that coming.
After topping Henry Hudson Regional High School, 7-2, on April 6, Mater Dei (14-1) only needed a win on May 7 against Ranney School to complete an undefeated run against B Central opponents.
“We never have gone undefeated in the division since joining the Shore Conference,” said Jeanne Dickinson, who is in her 33rd season as head coach. “This team has decided it wants to be the first. They’ve set that goal for themselves.”
Also unexpected is Mater Dei’s offensive prowess this season, Dickinson said. The lineup has been unrelenting, recently beating Asbury Park High School, 17-1, and Keansburg High School, 19-0.
In their defeat of Henry Hudson, Kaitlyn Nash had two RBIs in a five-run sixth inning. Larisa Chiesa went 2-for-4 with a triple and two runs scored, while Emilie Boman added two hits, two RBIs and two runs.
Mater Dei recently had another big win over Henry Hudson, a 13-0 shutout on May 1. Against Asbury Park, the Seraphs had 15 hits and drew nine walks in the blowout victory. Freshman Maggie Klatt pitched a twohitter and drove in five runs at the plate. Maddie Hourican hit her first varsity home run, going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
“In all honesty, it’s been unexpected. Never in my wildest imagination did I expect the offense to be as potent as it is,” Dickinson said.
When asked for Mater Dei’s secret to offensive success, Dickinson offered another dose of honesty.
“I wish that I knew because we really haven’t done anything different,” she said.
In fact, the small-school team doesn’t have the luxury of using a pitching machine for batting practice, the head coach added, although the hitters have focused during practices on seeing pitches better.
“They’ve taken to the belief that they can hit anything that’s up there,” Dickinson said.
A number of Seraphs are among the Shore Conference’s offensive leaders. As of last week, Chiesa was hitting .702 with 33 hits to lead both categories, while scoring the second-most runs with 25.
“Larisa is one of the most underrated players. Without question, she is a great shortstop. She’s making a statement for herself,” Dickinson said.
Jackie Nash (.579) and Boman (.578) were seventh and eighth in batting average, respectively. Boman also had the fifth-best hit total with 26.
While the Seraphs have a strong showing on the Shore Conference leaderboard, Dickinson said the personal accolades are not all that important to her players.
“It’s never been a point of interest,” she said. “I don’t know if the numbers mean as much to these guys as winning games. They never talk about their personal numbers.”
Mater Dei’s worst offensive performance came in its only loss, a 6-1 defeat to Middletown High School South in the first round of the Monmouth County Tournament. The Seraphs were then moved to the tournament’s White Division and will play either Red Bank Regional High School or Marlboro High School in the semifinals, tentatively scheduled for May 11 at Mater Dei.
As for the regular season, the Seraphs are scheduled to go on the road on May 10 to play Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. The team will then go to Raritan High School on May 14 before playing at Red Bank Regional High School on May 16.
With the Shore Conference and state tournaments coming up, Dickinson said her team wants to prove itself against the top competition.
“Our state division [Non-Public South B] is full of top teams,” the coach said, adding that Mater Dei was “a little apprehensive” in its only loss against Middletown South. “We’re looking forward to see if we can play against the bigger schools.”