It was business as usual at Thursday’s practice for the Central Bucks South softball team.
While pitcher Fran Carrullo is throwing to catcher Lauren Klepchick in the outfield, their teammates are getting their final cuts – two bunts and five hits – off the pitching machine.
There’s the usual light-hearted banter going on behind the backstop when the subject of coach Jennifer Robinson’s age comes up in conversation.
“You’re not 24 like when we started doing this,” coach Victor Volpe – better known as coach ‘V’ - said in response to the Titans’ coach complaining of a slight twinge after throwing bunting practice.
“I was 22,” Robinson corrects him. “Now I’m 28 and pregnant.”
A lot has transpired in the six years since Robinson – then coach Jennifer Kratowicz – took over the helm of the brand new program at South. On Friday, Robinson and her squad will find themselves playing for the ultimate prize when, with the television cameras rolling, the Titans will face Mt. Lebanon at Shippensburg University in the PIAA Class AAAA title game at 10 a.m.
“I really believe we can come home with a trophy, but the bottom line is we don’t need a trophy to show how good a team we are,” Robinson said. “Do I still feel we have the capability of winning tomorrow? Absolutely, but I think we’ve proven to ourselves what it means to be a team and what it means to be our team.”
For now, however, there’s the little matter of completing what will be the final practice ever for the 2010 Titan squad.
Volpe mentions that he will be taking the orange extension cord used for the pitching machine with him since it’s the team’s last practice, but Morgan Decker is concerned about disrupting the team’s karma.
“You have to leave it here,” the Titans’ sophomore third baseman pleads.
“Enough with the karma,” a teammate retorts.
“I can’t help it – I’m superstitious,” Decker said. “I haven’t tied or untied these shoes since the season started.”
Then it’s time for assistant coach Dan Hayes to hit some fielding practice, and on the first go-round in the outfield, Taylre Stocks makes a fine running catch of a fly ball in right field while the team’s regular rightfielder – Shana Steigerwalt - is occupying Stocks’ spot at first base.
“We switched for the last day,” Steigerwalt said but both quickly return to their usual positions.
Hayes peppers ground balls at the infield.
“Move your feet, move your feet,” he said.
A fly ball to the outfield falls between two fielders.
“That has to be caught,” Hayes said emphatically.
“Defense, girls,” Volpe exhorts from the sidelines. “Defense is going to win it.”
Carrullo and Klepchick return from the outfield.
“Feeling good?” Robinson asks her pitcher.
“I feel real good,” Carrullo said.
***
Francesca Carrullo says she never really thought about pitching in a game like Friday’s PIAA Class AAAA title game against Mt. Lebanon when she decided to make the mound her home.
“My thinking when I was little was, ‘I wish I was in the College World Series,’” the Titans’ junior mound ace said. “I guess the state championship is my College World Series.
“I don’t pitch for Arizona, I don’t pitch for Tennessee, so this is my College World Series.”
Carrullo admits there was a brief period of time when she almost threw in the towel on becoming a pitcher
“When I was 12, I tried out for a 12-and-under travel team,” she said. “It wasn’t going well, and I didn’t enjoy it. When I failed, I beat myself up about it. I actually used to play in the infield, and I hit, and I used to succeed at that.
“Pitching I didn’t succeed at, and I decided to quit, but my pitching coach at the time said, ‘No, pick up the ball. You’re going to pitch.’”
South’s coaches and players might want to send a note of gratitude to the pitching coach who talked Carrullo into sticking with it.
During a stellar three-year career, the Titans’ junior hurler has accumulated somewhere between 37 and 40 wins, and while the exact number of Carrullo’s wins could not be confirmed, it’s well documented that she has lost just four games in three years with three of those losses coming in her freshman year and one this year.
The crafty righthander has made a career out of baffling hitters with her wide assortment of pitches and her uncanny ability to change speeds as well as the spin on the ball.
On Friday, Carrullo and her teammates will find themselves on the biggest high school stage playing in a state title game that will be telecast live on PCN.
“Being on TV is something special,” said Carullo, who plans to major in communications. “I always wanted to be on TV. It’s what I want to do when I get older.
“I love the spotlight, and I think tomorrow it will be on our team.”
That being said, Carrullo acknowledged that she has to avoid putting too much pressure on herself when she takes the mound.
“If I put too much pressure on myself, I think too much, and when I think too much, I don’t pitch too well,” she said. “When I relax, my team relaxes, and we play our game. I’ll just try and be myself and pitch”
Carrullo admits that things didn’t feel all that different at Thursday’s final practice.
“Sam Kraus said, ‘It’s doesn’t feel like States is tomorrow,’” Carrullo said. “We just practiced like we’re just playing another game tomorrow.
“It’s not hitting any of us. It probably won’t hit us tomorrow morning when we’re half asleep, but when we get there, I think it’s all going to come together.”
***
Thursday’s practice is coming to a close, and the fielders are coming off the field one by one. As Shana Steigerwalt – one of two seniors – approaches the sidelines, teammate Dani London said, “That was the last time ever catching a fly ball at practice.”
“Don’t start with that, Dani,” Robinson said to her sophomore designated hitter.
The players and coaches begin to gather for their final meeting.
“We have to look good – we’re going to be on TV,” Steigerwalt said, displaying her perfectly manicured nails. “We’re not going to be just the best team, we’re going to be the best looking.”
There’s another mention that this is the last practice, and the team’s lone seniors – Steigerwalt and Taylre Stocks – hug on cue.
Robinson begins explaining the schedule for the day on Friday, and at the mention that the players must be at the school by 4:45 a.m. for a 5 a.m. departure, Decker’s jaw drops.
“Who wants to camp out?” Steigerwalt asks.
“Who wants to sleep over in the hallway?” Stocks asks.
“I hear too many voices,” Robinson said. “I just want to hear my own.”
And then the tone turns decidedly more serious.
“Tomorrow it’s going to be very loud at this game, louder than we’re used to with a lot of spectators, but it doesn’t matter,” Robinson said.
The Titans’ coach is interrupted again, “Morgan, what do we say?”
The team answers in unison, “Sophomores should be seen and not heard.”
“It’s a big game, but it’s just another game,” Robinson continued. “We want to play this game the way we play every other game.
“I can’t picture us not being the winner if we play our best. Tomorrow’s game doesn’t define who you are as players. It doesn’t define us as a team. Tomorrow’s game is icing on the cake. It’s the piece that says, ‘Here’s everything we have done all season.’
“Get a good night’s sleep tonight. Come mentally prepared. Believe in yourselves and have confidence.”
“Let’s bring home a state championship for graduation,” Steigerwalt said.
The players gather in a final huddle and break with one last cheer of “South.”
They head to their cars. Their final practice is over.
***
(1-1)Central Bucks South vs. (7-1) Mt. Lebanon
Friday, June 18, 10 a.m., at Shippensburg University’s Robb Field
Telecast live on PCN
Coach Jennifer Robinson didn’t have to go far to get a scouting report on District 7 champion Mount Lebanon. The Titans coach could simply have checked with fellow SOL Continental Conference coach Kelly Krier, whose Hatboro-Horsham team fell to Lebo 2-1 in Monday’s semifinal game.
The Hatters would undoubtedly love to have a first inning back that saw the Blue Devils collect three hits – singles by Ashley Darabant, Kaitlin Klinchock and Kathleen Mathison (2 RBIs) – as well as a walk that led to their only two runs of the game.
“You have to set the tone when you come out,” Carrullo said. “We have to play hard, we have to show we’re not going to give this game away.
“We worked way too hard to come out and slack off.”
After a rocky first, Hatter hurler Maggie Shaffer was in complete command, scattering three hits while fanning 10.
Blue Devil pitcher Geena Badolato is a hard-throwing left hander who will be taking her talents to Robert Morris University this fall. Against the Hatters, Badolato – a marvelous fielder - fanned just four but assisted on six outs.
Shortstop Jess Apke – who has six home runs - is the big bat in the Blue Devils’ lineup.
The Titans will counter with a lineup that is dangerous from top to bottom and a pitcher – Carrullo – who has allowed just one run in three state games.
After advancing to the semifinals of the state tournament last year, a trip to the state final was the Titans’ singular goal.
“There was definitely pressure this year because we were the team to come out and beat,” Steigerwalt said. “We know the pressure, and we accepted the pressure, and we rose up to the occasion.
“We challenged ourselves to improve upon last year, and we want this championship so bad. You can be the team to beat, but if you don’t play your ‘A’ game, teams will take advantage of it.”
After the Titans’ 5-0 win over Governor Mifflin in Monday’s semifinal, South looked very much a team that still had some unfinished business to take care of before it celebrated.
“Of course, we were ecstatic about getting past the point we made it to last year, but there is that sense that we still have a long road to go even though these games are separated by only a few days,” Steigerwalt said. “We have been working hard at practices, and it’s this mindset – we’ve had finals this week, and this is the only thing I can think about.”
The big day has finally arrived, and the Titans are ready to enjoy every minute of their once-in-a-lifetime experience.
“If you can’t come out and enjoy the experience, then what’s the point of it,” Robinson said. “We’ve been in each other’s faces for a long time.
“We’ve been working out since November, and our season started the beginning of March. You have to be able to get along, have laughs, take criticism and take praise. You just have to if you’re around each other as much as we are. The kids are finished with school – they could pack it in, but they genuinely like to be around each other. They want the best for one another.”
Only one win separates the Titans from the ultimate prize – a state title.
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