There was a decided feeling of optimism heading into the season for the Springfield softball team, and when the Spartans rolled to wins in their two scrimmages and also won their first non-league game, that optimism appeared to be well-founded.
Then – just before their league opener against Wissahickon – the Spartans received word that starting pitcher Emma Goodrich would be forced to relocate. In the Wissahickon School District.
“It was devastating,” coach Ed Jones said. “You figure we had been on a three-game high.
“We looked really good, and it felt like the season had been taken from the kids.”
The Spartans stumbled out of the gate to a 1-8 start, but in something bordering on a fairy tale ending, they won six of seven games to close out the season and earned the number one seed in the District One AA Tournament that begins on Tuesday.
“When Emma left, everyone was pretty devastated,” senior Linda John said. “Throughout the offseason, she was our go-to pitcher, and we had to learn how to play without her.
“For the first couple of games, we struggled, but when it finally clicked, it all came together. We realized when someone gets knocked down, that’s okay, and it’s okay to mourn a loss, but it’s more important to come back from that and come back stronger and fighting. That’s what happened.
“We still love Emma to death, and we still think she’s family, but she’s not here anymore. We had to recoup, and we did.”
That’s not to say it was easy. It wasn’t.
“Emotionally, it was really hard,” senior Maggie Harkins said. “The first half of the season – every day we were going home bummed out. It took a really big toll on the team, but then something happened to us, and we just clicked.
“We’re all individually good, but we couldn’t pull together the first half of the season. Finally something happened, and we clicked. Here we are now – the number one seed.”
Samantha Juliano – penciled in to be the Spartans’ starting first baseman – was pressed into emergency duty on the mound yet again.
“Last year, our senior pitcher broke her wrist, and I pitched,” the sophomore hurler said. “Whenever they needed help, I stepped in.
“We were pretty down at first. It was pretty hard to get back up, but we started doing well, and it boosted our confidence a lot.”
Confidence, according to junior shortstop Elise DiFilippo, was in short supply at the beginning of the season.
“Our coach would talk to us all the time and try and boost our confidence, and he really couldn’t do anything,” she said. “We had to believe in ourselves.
“We finally started playing as a team. Everyone had confidence in each other, and we were on a roll. We finally realized we could really play.”
The tide began to turn for the Spartans after they notched a huge 2-1 win over a Norristown squad that went on to capture the American Conference crown.
“That showed them they could do it,” Jones said. “The Norristown win was probably the biggest win we have had here in 10 years, and to keep moving like that and to beat Upper Moreland and PW – those were huge, huge wins for us.”
Juliano admits she couldn’t see those wins coming when the season started.
“If someone had told me, I would have been like, ‘You’re kidding me. That’s not possible,’ but I’m really glad it happened,” she said. “It was quite a confidence booster for the team.”
The sophomore hurler points to the Spartans’ defense as a key to their success.
“All I have to do is get it over the plate,” Juliano said. “I have so much confidence in all my players that if the other team hits it, I’m totally okay with it. I’m confident they will do their jobs.”
“Sammi picked us up so much,” DiFilippo said. “She stepped up really big.
“We practice defense all the time, and once we got it down, we realized we could beat any team in our league. Once we put our mind to it, we could do it.”
Beyond playing standout defense, the Spartans, according to senior Kellie Anne O’Donnell, have done some serious bonding.
“We really had to stick together as a team and make the best of the situation,” she said. “We have bonded so much, and we have worked together.
“Our practices are so focused. It’s been the best group of girls to work with, and it’s been the most amazing experience. Years before, we were never winning games, and this year, we went on a winning streak. I couldn’t have been happier. I was just ecstatic about it.”
The ‘team’ theme is a recurring one amongst the players.
“The way we have come together – we started having fun as a team, and I think that’s what really brought it all together for us,” John said. “Every warm-up we have, we say ‘1-2-3 Team,’ and I think that’s what we finally figured out – how to be a team.”
A team that is ranked number one in the District One AA Tournament.
“That’s the best thing ever,” DiFilippo said. “We weren’t expecting it. Our goal was to win districts, but we didn’t think we would be the number one seed. That was really exciting for us.”
“Oh my god, I can’t tell you the feeling,” added O’Donnell, who will be taking her softball talents to Alvernia next year. “It makes me so thrilled – not for me but for everyone and my coach especially. He wants the best for this team, and he’ll do anything to make us do better. He’s the reason we got this far.”
For the Spartans, despair has been replaced by jubilation.
“I was so upset,” Harkins said. “I thought, ‘This is my senior year. I wanted to go out with a bang. I wanted a banner up in the gym.’
“I thought we weren’t going to make it to districts at all. Now, this is it. This is the way I want to end my senior year. It’s awesome. It’s really the greatest feeling. When you expect nothing out of it and get something great – it’s really a great feeling.”
“It’s a good time,” Juliano said “I love coming out here.”
The Spartans will face fourth-seeded St. Pius X in Tuesday’s opening round game at North Penn High School.
“This is a position we thought we might be in at the beginning of the year, but once we lost our pitcher, we basically started falling apart, and I thought the season was over,” Jones said. “My goal the whole season was to be competitive in the Suburban One League and contend for the district championship.
“Halfway through the season, it looked like we might not even get to the playoffs. Then, all of a sudden, it just came together for this team. Everything clicked. All of a sudden, things we had been talking about, things we had been practicing – it just started to click.”
And nothing has ever been the same for the Spartans.
- Log in to post comments
0
