The Plymouth North softball team makes scoring runs (in bunches) look easy
WHITMAN – At the plate, hot bats tend to come and go as they please.
The relentless flame on those of the Plymouth North High softball team, however, has lived on unabated by any opposing pitcher the Eagles have seen. One batter after another, the swings radiate off each other. It's surprising they haven't melted the batting gloves of Bella Piekarski, Megan Banzi or Kylee Carafoli.
And within the blink of an eye, Plymouth North (12-1) – which has scored a double-digit runs in all but three games this season and over 20 on three occasions – has a rally going. Friday's 15-3 road win over Whitman-Hanson followed in line with the trend.
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“Our bats have been on fire all year," said head coach Sue Harrison. "Even when we get down, you can’t count us out.”
But trailing hasn't been in the cards much for the defending Patriot League Keenan Division champions, as they've maintained a margin of victory of 7.5 runs, and scored 178 runs on the season (13.6 per game) compared to 80 allowed (6.1 per).
The Eagles, who are slid in as the ninth-ranked team in Division 2 in the latest MIAA power rankings, tacked on 15 hits and three walks to their season totals against Whitman-Hanson, while only striking out three times as a team. And on one of the Ks, sophomore Callie Smith beat out a throw to first base after it escaped the catcher's glove.
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“Honestly, there’s really no secret," Harrison said of the offensive numbers. "They’re hungry when they get up there. That’s what I’ve been telling them: just base hits. Don’t reach for the fence. When you have base hits, it makes something happen.”
Harrison's philosophy proved true on Friday, as only two of North's hits went for extra bases: a three-run double by sophomore Marissa Durette in the second inning, and a lead-off triple to left field by Piekarski in the third.
One season removed from its first league title in 39 years ("but who's counting?" added Harrison), the Eagles are once again atop the Patriot League standings. Harrison said that before the season, the team gathered with pen and paper to organize its goals for the season ahead. A repeat of the title was high on the list.
“That definitely drummed up a lot of motivation for this year. That was extremely special," Harrison said of last year's title. "I told the kids, when they’re my age, they’ll come into the gym and they’ll be able to say, ‘Hey, I was on that team,’ with their kids. That’s the stuff that’s amazing to me.”
Piekarski, a sophomore who maintained a .636 batting average through the first eight games of the season and hasn't faltered, wasn't on varsity at the time of last year's milestone. She now, however, already has three home runs to her name, joining the eight returning seniors in the race to run it back.
“Even just watching them achieve that – coming into this year, it made me that much more motivated in order to be a better player myself to help them, knowing that they worked so hard for it last year and they want more of it this year," said Piekarski. "That was definitely a big motivator.”
Banzi was just as motivated to put her stamp on this season, but for different reasons. She intends on this "family", as she called it, of seniors to leave a winning legacy behind.
“It’s my last season and I want to go out with high scores and just doing my best. With the team, we’re all just playing really good,” said Banzi. “We’re just a talented team. We have a lot of seniors, we all just want to do really good.”
“I knew that they were talented," Harrison agreed, "And I was excited to get them back together.”
Banzi is a two-time Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic and former league MVP who hit .464 with a homer and 11 RBI in the first half of the season.
Also impactful members of the star-studded senior class, Carafoli and Caroline Collins. Carafoli carried a .545 average at the plate through the Eagles' 8-0 start with one home run and 14 RBI. On the mound, Collins was among one of the Patriot League leaders in ERA during the stretch, as well, at 2.84. She pitched five scoreless innings against Whitman-Hanson.
Kylee Hefner, Arianna Durette, Emily Jenkins, Grace Beatty and Maggie Ladd round out the senior class.
“It’s definitely really interesting looking up to them as players and leaders of the team, and watching how they communicate with each other and Coach," Piekarski said of the seniors. "That’s how I want to be the next two seasons. Watching them be the people they are teaches me so much on how I want to be as a player and a person. It’s definitely really, really cool.”
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plymouth North High softball team is as impressive as they come
