Softball season preview: Sherwood, Northern aim to keep rolling; Madison ready to rebound
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Version 0 of 1. For two Maryland public schools, the broken records sound sweet. The story of the softball season in Montgomery County is the same as it was last year, and the year before that, and the year before that and the year before that. In Calvert County it hasn’t changed in eight years. From 2012-2015, the Sherwood girls from Sandy Spring put together four perfect seasons, going 83-0 on the way to hoisting the trophy at the end of four 4A title games. Last season the Warriors eclipsed the previous state record of 77 state wins held by Northern, but the girls from Owings extended a more important mark to stay ahead of Sherwood. The Patriots won their eighth state title in row, moving their overall haul to 12 Maryland championships. Both, of course, are state records. So this season, once again both teams are left with the same question: How do we do it again? “I tell them all the time. There’s not pixie dust,” Northern Coach Robert Earl Radford said. “We’re not going to be able to walk out there and throw our gloves on the field. We’re really going to have to work hard and compete.” Experience will be an asset as the Patriots chase title number nine. Northern returns eight seniors from the team that went 22-2 last year. Center fielder Kassidy Cross highlights the lineup after hitting .595 last year with a .690 on-base percentage. Her twin sister, Kaylee, will return to the circle. The Patriots will miss Georgetown freshman Sarah Bennett’s clutch hitting, but senior Micaela Cummings fills her spot at catcher after playing third base last season. Senior Gina Seifert replaces Cummings as an experienced infielder. “We shuffled people right in, and they look like they’ve been in there forever,” Radford said. Like Northern, Sherwood returns eight seniors for another title defense. The loss of All-Met Player of the Year Nicole Stockinger, who is batting .313 as a freshman at Towson, will sting, but the Warriors didn’t lack any pop in their season opener on Tuesday. Sherwood beat Quince Orchard, 18-0, and senior Jaime Schmier tossed a perfect game. “I still feel pressure on my shoulders to keep it going,” Schmier said of the win streak. But “I feel more relaxed, more at ease and more confident in myself” as the incumbent pitcher. As a junior, Schmier went 20-0 with a 0.48 ERA and 138 strikeouts with just nine walks. “The goal is always states again. Before that I would really like to get to 100 wins, which I feel confident we can do,” Schmier said. “Don’t count us out yet.” When Madison softball turned on its scoreboard for the first time this spring, the score from its gut-wrenching home loss in last season’s 6A North region semifinal against Battlefield was still visible. Per usual, senior pitcher Katie Vannicola was unphased. “I don’t really remember that game, I guess I’ve sort of blocked it out,” said Vannicola, who gave up the game-winning two-run home run in the sixth inning of a 4-3 loss. “I don’t like to focus on details of what went wrong. I just move on.” Vannicola, a Georgetown commit, was 21-4 with a 0.524 ERA and 234 strikeouts in 143 innings last season. Armed with five pitches and a short memory, she will look to continue to outfox batters with accuracy and pitch selection in her senior season. “She’s not going to throw the hardest in the region, and every once in a while, she’ll get in a jam, but she has the confidence and maturity to get out of it,” Coach Jim Adkins said. “She’s a better pitcher than a thrower. She works batters and works counts. She cannot only throw strikes, but where she wants to when she wants to.” Last season, Vannicola’s infield and Madison’s first five batters were all freshmen. Now, first baseman Kristin Giery and third baseman Alex Echazarreta lead a talented group of sophomores eager to provide run support for its senior ace. “Games are so much more relaxed when she’s pitching and we don’t have to worry about tons of people scoring runs,” Echazarreta said. “We all want to do better than last year, which will be difficult, but Kristin and I have a competition to see who can hit better.” On Wednesday morning, Madison (5-0) beat defending 6A North champion Osbourn Park, 5-1, while on spring break in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Echazarreta, the team’s cleanup hitter, is committed to Central Florida while Giery, who bats third, has pledged to play for Boston College. Both players have demonstrated increased power in the early going which has inspired Madison to aim high. “I’m confident we’re one of the best teams in the region,” Echazarreta said. “As a team, we all click, and it’s going to show in the field in the future.” After notching 212 strikeouts as a junior, reigning WCAC MVP Madie Aughinbaugh returns to St. Mary’s Ryken to help the Knights attempt a conference three-peat. . . . Junior Patty Maye Ohanian leads a potent O’Connell lineup looking to reclaim the WCAC throne. . . . Reigning Virginia 6A North region player of the year Emily Weatherholtz returns to the circle for Osbourn Park. . . . Senior UMBC commit Evvie Buehlman is a key returner for Mount Hebron after hitting .540 with four home runs last year. . . . Senior Abby Thibodeau transferred from Paul VI to add pitching and hitting to Lake Braddock. 1. Sherwood (21-0) Last ranked: 1 2. St. Mary’s Ryken (23-1) LR: 2 3. Northern (22-2) LR: 3 4. O’Connell (25-3) LR: 4 5. Madison (21-4) LR: 9 6. Osbourn Park (25-3) LR: 5 7. Mount Hebron (17-5) LR: NR 8. Lake Braddock (18-2) LR: NR 9. Woodgrove (25-3) LR: 6 10. McLean (22-3) LR: NR On the bubble: Battlefield (19-6), South County (18-7), Leonardtown (20-3) Final 2015 records. |