By Sean Mulligan ’12 & Jessica Waggoner ‘12, Staff Writers

The young and talented girls softball team is peaking just in time for the most important part of their schedule: tournament time. With the finals of the Prep B tournament upcoming as well as the Non-Public B state tournament first round, the softball team’s season is about to get exciting. Led by a great core group of seniors– second baseman Emma Baumgartner, outfielders Elizabeth Celente and Katherine Johnson, pitcher Callie Marx, and shortstop Adrienne White, Coach Sergio Rodriquez feels his team is poised to make an end of the season run.

The long season presented its challenges with a tough conference schedule in which the softball team faced off against some top teams in the state such as Caldwell, Mount St. Dominic, and West Orange. In addition to the group of seniors, the squad had several key components in first baseman Lisa Swenson, center fielder Heather Luing, and catcher Emily Tross. The players switched into new positions throughout the season, as the team searched for the perfect lineup. The versatility of many girls on the team gave Coach Rodriquez many options and different combinations. Coach Sergio Rodriguez explains that “it has been hard to find a perfect balance” for success.

Sophomore Carly McMahon explained that, “for the most part, the games are close and competitive,” in response to the team’s 3-0 loss in the Essex County Tournament against Caldwell.  The team had a big win earlier in the season against Livingston, which, according to senior Adrienne White, is “favored to win the Essex County Tournament”. The team proved throughout the season that they had the potential and experience to compete and even defeat perennial powerhouses in wins over Livingston, Millburn, and Verona.

Much of the team’s success and unity can be credited to the wonderful and strong senior class that helped to mentor a talented group of underclassman. Thanks to the seniors’ guidance, underclassmen such as freshman pitcher Gabby Giachin, third baseman Lauren Catena, and outfielder Courtney Luing ensure the team a promising future. The seniors helped to teach and show the young, but important contributors to this year’s team the way Coach Rodriquez expects them to play. McMahon comments, “The seniors this year helped the team become the team that it is now. They made the team fun to be on, on and off the field.“ The competition to keep positions this season was more competitive than in the past because of the talent of younger players. McMahon continues, “There was definitely more of a competition this year for positions. I think that a lot of players had at least one other person in the same position that played. A lot of the underclassmen are good athletes who were able to play positions that in the past there wasn’t competition over.”

Despite all of these changes, the softball team has remained positive and looks to finish their season strong. On an even more positive note, the youth and talent of the program should translate to even more success in the upcoming year as there were six freshmen and five sophomore players on this year’s team. Coach Sergio Rodriquez has his team playing with energy and emotion, something that teams truly benefit from come tournament time. The softball team looks to make a final push to end the season on a good note with a strong showing in the upcoming end of the year tournaments.