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Local softball squads have swagger following regular-season success
By Steven Dlugosz Times
 | | FLYERS...Coach Jeff Ross and pitcher Brittany Koshofer lead Maryvale. (Times photo) |
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With a combined 80 percent winning percentage in league play this spring, local softball teams have found the right formula for success in different ways. The squads hope to carry that same "mojo" into the postseason, which opens today and tomorrow with the Section VI prequarterfinals.
Cheektowaga Central, Cleveland Hill, Depew, John F. Kennedy and Maryvale finished a combined 48- 12 in Erie County Interscholastic Conferences-III and IV, respectively.
The Lady Wildcats, who earned a No. 2 seed in Class A behind Williamsville South, won ECIC-III outright with a perfect 12-0 record, while Cleve Hill (No. 2 in Class B) finished tied with Alden for the ECIC-IV title with a 10-2 mark. Maryvale, which went 10-2 in league play and earned a No. 3 seed in Class A, as well as JFK (9-3, No. 6 seed in Class B), each earned second place finishes in ECIC-III and IV, respectively. Central, the No. 8 seed in Class A, jumped up to third place in ECIC-III with a 7-5 record.
 | | MOUND LEADER...Depew senior pitcher Jessica Sisti has had one of the best seasons of any ECIC hurler this spring, compiling an ERA of 1.09 with 143 strikeouts. (Times photo) |
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Depew head coach Dan Seelig and Cleve Hill head coach Dave Hehr both know that the unexpected can happen in the postseason and are wary of not overlooking any opponent.
"To get to the sectional finals, you need to play the best (Class) 'B' schools," said Hehr, whose team lost to Wilson in the postseason one year ago. "If you go into the playoffs thinking too far ahead, you're prime for an upset."
Depew, which finished 16-6 overall, finally accomplished something in the regular season that it hadn't done during the last three seasons: beat local rival Maryvale. A sweep of the Lady Flyers- who were coming off a Section VI Class A championship appearance in 2006- was the first major hurdle the Lady 'Cats got over this spring.
That being said, the playoffs are a "different animal," and Seelig has witnessed firsthand from the stands a pair of other talented Wildcat sports teams fall to Maryvale when the timing matters most: a key late-season Depew loss to Maryvale in football, as well as a loss by the top-seeded boys varsity basketball team to the Flyers in the Class A finals.
The Lady 'Cats and Flyers could end up facing each other in the Class A semifinals as No. 2 and 3 seeds if both squads avoid the upset bug in the postseason.
(8) Central vs. (9) Iroquois
Thursday, 4:30 p.m.
A young Cheektowaga Central softball team might be flying into the playoffs under the radar, but it is a squad that is much improved from where it was a year ago.
The Lady Warriors (9-8 overall) have built a talented nucleus of underclassmen around senior No. 1 pitcher Rachel Kandefer, who has enjoyed success in her second season as staff ace. During the regular season, Kandefer compiled a record of 6-5 with an ERA of 1.93, striking out 53 and walking 17. Central head coach Matt Haberl ranked Kandefer right behind Depew's Jessica Sisti as the top pitcher in ECIC-III.
At the plate, sophomore first baseman Neysha Harrell has been Central's most dangerous threat, leading the team with a .424 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 14 RBI. Junior Deanna Szymkowiak- the Lady Warriors' leading hitter in 2006- has again been steady this spring, finishing second in hitting with a .365 average. She is tied with Harrell for the team lead in RBI with 14.
Kandefer and seventh grader Jen Mikolajek round out the top of Central's offensive unit, as Kandefer has hit .314 and Mikolajek- who missed about half the season with an injury- hit a robust .538 in limited action. Junior Shannon Kelly has been one of the team's most fundamentally sound hitters, in terms of moving runners over and doing the "little things," according to Haberl.
The seventh-grade tandem of Mikolajek and Yasmine Harrell (younger sister of Neysha) have started nearly every game and are described by Haberl as having the strongest arms on the team at shortstop and third base, respectively.
Haberl said his team's goal is to advance to at least the quarterfinals of the third round, with the hope of using this season's success as a building block for next year.
"We want to make some noise," Haberl told the Times. "All season we've talked about doing the extra things. Along the way, we've hit some road blocks, but we've understood why we've hit them."
If the Lady Warriors defeat Iroquois, they will likely face on Tuesday in the quarterfinals No. 1 seed Williamsville South, which features standout senior pitcher Chelsea Plimpton.
(2) Depew vs. TBA
Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Depew will open the postseason against the winner of a contest between No. 15 seed Grand Island and 18th-seeded Lake Shore, who square off today in a playoff qualifier matchup.
Seelig has recently been trying to give his team a taste of what could be to come from upper-echelon competition in the Class A postseason by playing several non-league, Class AA teams, including Frontier, Lancaster and Williamsville North, late in the regular season.
The Lady 'Cats have relied heavily on the strong right arm of senior Jessica Sisti, who went 16-3 this season, hurling 143 strikeouts in 129 innings, compiling an earned run average of barely more than 1.00. Sisti has stepped up on the mound this spring in a big way following last year's graduation of Carine Janis, allowing opponents to hit just .170 against her.
At the plate, sophomore shortstop Alexis Wayne contributed a teambest .494 batting average and 40 hits, while senior outfielder Carrie Stahura ranked second by hitting .461 with 36 hits. Sisti (.455, three home runs, 24 runs batted in), freshman third baseman Ashley Nunz (.433, 13 RBI), sophomore first baseman Michelle Green (.410, 25 hits) and senior second baseman Briana Wozniak (.355, 19 hits) have also had sizzling seasons.
Williamsville South was awarded the top seed in Class A by virtue of a coin flip win over Depew. If the Wildcats win tomorrow, they will face the winner of No. 10 seed Pioneer (5-7 in ECIC-III) at seventhseeded West Seneca East, a playoffqualifying game today.
(2) Cleve Hill vs. TBA
Friday, 4:30 p.m.
The Lady Eagles will face the winner of today's play-in game between No. 15 seed Lackawanna(3-9 in ECIC-IV) and No. 18 seed Akron.
Cleve Hill, which went 15-5 overall, started out hot this spring and has maintained its solid level of play heading into the postseason.
Junior Kristen Rohe has again been Hehr's "go-to" player on the mound, finishing with a record of 14- 4 and an ERA of 1.45, hurling 98 strikeouts and walking only 10. She currently has 65 victories in a varsity career that started as an eighth grader.
Rohe's battery mate- junior catcher Alyssa Luksch- has been sensational at the plate, leading the team with a .507 batting average and contributing a team-leading 40 hits. Other sizzling hitters this season included Rohe (.478, 33 hits), junior shortstop Torrie Wydysh (.370), senior third baseman Merissa Ciesielski (.350) and freshman Kaitlyn Luksch (.320).
Hehr said Ciesielski, who hit the first-ever home run by an opposing player at Depew High School, has been one his team's top clutch hitters in recent action.
Cleve Hill's coach added that senior KayLee Neureuther (second baseman) and sophomore Jenna Andrzejewski (first baseman) have emerged as top defensive players throughout the regular season.
If Cleve Hill wins tomorrow, it will face on Tuesday in the quarterfinals the winner of No. 7 seed Fredonia and 10th-seeded Medina, who square off today. (3) Maryvale vs. (14) Tonawanda
Friday, 4:30 p.m.
Maryvale is very familiar with Tonawanda (4-8 in ECIC-III), who the Lady Flyers swept during the regular season in two blowout wins.
Buoyed by the emergence of freshman pitcher Brittany Koshofer, Maryvale (12-3 overall) has played an effective close-to-the-vest style that has suited it well in previous years, despite the graduation of several top athletes from last year's squad, which also went 10-2 in league play.
Koshofer, who went 11-2 with an ERA of about 2.00, only emerged as the staff ace because of a preseason injury to projected No. 1 starter and sophomore Olivia Gmerek. Despite only being a freshman, Koshofer threw four shutouts during the regular season and earned the praise of head coach Jeff Ross.
At the plate, three seasoned veterans- senior shortstop Nicole Odrobina, junior third baseman Toni Caruso and sophomore second baseman Breanna Fenski- all hit over .400 during regular-season play. Juniors Amanda Pinak and Abbey Krier also provided clutch hits throughout the spring, including many extra-base bombs.
Ross said Maryvale's togetherness- he mentioned how the squad chanted the name of the the injured Gmerek during a comeback tournament win in Florida- has been evident throughout the season.
"The team's success has come from a team-first concept," said Ross. "It has been a very special season regardless of how far the girls go in sectionals."
If the Lady Flyers defeat Tonawanda, they will face on Tuesday at home in the quarterfinals the winner of No. 6 seed Hamburg and 11th-seeded Kenmore East.
(6) JFK vs. (11) Eden
Friday, 4:30 p.m.
JFK is looking to avenge a 5-0 loss to Eden in the quarterfinals at home in 2006, a game in which the Lady Bears were only able to muster two hits on offense.
Lady Bears head coach Chris Mahalic said he hopes his team, which has swept Eden (6-6 in ECICIV this spring) the last two years during the regular season, has learned from its mistakes last year.
"If we play how we have late this season, we can make a run," said Mahalic, whose team went 9-5 overall. "The 'Bs' are loaded this year, so it won't be easy."
Junior Caitlyn Szymanski has been excellent in her second season as JFK's No. 1 pitcher, going 9-4 with an ERA of about 2.00.
Offensively, the Lady Bears are loaded with strong hitters, including six .300-or-better players in the lineup. Mahalic ranked freshman catcher Jamie Nash, senior third baseman Dana Thompson and Szymanski as his team's top hitters.
If JFK defeats Eden, it will face on Tuesday in the prequarterfinals the winner of No. 3 seed Alden against No. 14 seed East Aurora.
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