There was absolutely nothing “soft” about the Verona High School JV softball team this year.
Last week, the team wrapped up its season with a 12-0 record that included five shut-outs and 122 runs scored (to their opponents’ total of 21). Half of the girls’ games finished early because of their sport’s 10-run mercy rule. And their record probably would have matched the VHS record of 17-0 had there not been so many rain-outs.
“We won games offensively and we had strong hitters,” says Coach Angela Salisbury. “But defense was also key. The most any team scored on us was eight runs.”
And all this with a team that was heavy with freshman players. Mira Branek, Gabrielle Brehne, Olivia Feiger, Daniella Kosinski, Alex Kubacki, Maureen O’Toole and Kroyana Selemi took the field for the Class of 2015, along with sophomores Samantha Bass, Samantha Garrison and Madison Misuro, and juniors Isabella DeRosa, Olivia Lewis and Cassidy McKeen. Kosinski led the team in RBIs, and Salisbury praises her as one of the squad’s most consistent players. “The freshman class this year was the best I’ve had,” says Salisbury, who has been coaching the JV team for four seasons. “They came in with a lot of knowledge of the game.”
Salisbury also takes pride in the pitching by Bass. She averaged eight strikeouts per game this year, after having been out most of the previous season due to illness. “She was phenomenal,” says Salisbury. “She threw a no-hitter against Glen Ridge in the pouring rain. At any level that’s hard to do.”
With only two seniors on the 2012 varsity squad, Salisbury is looking forward to having much of her team back next season after summer leagues and winter play. “They are a really good group of girls,” says the coach. “They are fun but very talented.”
