No regrets.
That was the prevailing feeling as the Central Bucks South softball team walked away from a magical season that included both league and district titles as well as a trip to the PIAA Class AAAA title game.
Although the Titans came up short in their bid for a state crown - falling 1-0 to Geena Badolato and her Mount Lebanon squad in Friday’s title game at Shippensburg University, it had been quite a season.
“There was some sadness,” coach Jennifer Robinson said. “But we got on the bus after the game, and Fran (Carrullo) said to me, ‘I really don’t think we did that bad. We did good things, and we went further.’
“The atmosphere going home from the game – the girls were happy with what we did, and I’m happy. We have three massive trophies we’re going to take into school. I told the girls they’re going to have to make more room in the display case.”
The 2010 Titans won their program’s fourth league title in six years, capturing sole possession of the SOL Continental Conference crown. They went on to win their first ever District One Class AAAA title and were the first South team to advance to the state title game.
And so far, it’s been quite a career for the only head coach the Titans have ever known.
“When I was hired to do the coaching job, I was 22 years old,” Robinson said. “I love the sport, and I love being a coach because of the opportunities I have to teach the girls the way to do things.”
Robinson’s story is an interesting one. She didn’t see significant varsity playing time during her Council Rock playing days but went on to have a standout career at Gwynedd-Mercy College, earning first team all-league honors at third base.
“I don’t have an extensive resume,” she said. “I don’t have years of experience.
“I had an incredible team my first year – I had the talent, but I feel as though maybe I was a little young and inexperienced. Of course, we could get through the regular season and win, but the playoffs are a whole different animal. You have to treat the playoffs differently - you have to be more prepared.”
The Titans were 17-4 in Robinson’s first year. In six years, Robinson has compiled a record of 108-26, which translates into a dazzling .806 winning percentage. The program has been on a steady upswing.
“Not only have I had good teams throughout the years, I feel as though I’ve matured a lot, and I think that makes a big difference to the team,” Robinson said. “I’ve come to realize more over the years what it takes to get out of that first or second round of districts.”
Robinson has become the master of preparation, and as part of her game plan, she does extensive research on her team’s opponents.
“It’s not like I was doing anything wrong when I started, but these last few years I personally realize what I need to do,” the Titans’ coach said. “I pride myself on what I know going into games and how prepared I am mentally and how I prepare my team.
“It’s not like I didn’t want to do those things before, but I guess I didn’t know what I had to do to take my team to the next level. As much as I feel the girls on our team are really talented, I feel like a lot of our progression has been due to what I’ve done with the talent and how I’ve gotten that talent to work together to help them.
“My growing up with the program has made a big difference. I think that was a big hurdle we had to overcome to know how to get past those early rounds.”
After a trip to the state semifinals last year, expectations ran high coming into the 2010 season, and it was an early wake-up call for the Titans when they were stunned by Council Rock North in their non-league opener, falling 3-2.
“I think that was a gift,” Robinson said. “It was kind of like – ‘Wake up. This is not going to fly.’ It was a piece of humble pie.”
The Titans suffered a 1-0 loss to Hatboro-Horsham in the second go-round in league play but then did not lose again until the state title game, a loss that broke a string of 11 consecutive wins.
“The Hatboro loss might have been another kind of blessing because we played that team a third time for the district title, and that third game can really be hard to mentally and physically overcome,” Robinson said. “Maybe that loss was a good thing.
“With the final loss on the last day of the season, I think Mount Lebanon deserved to win that game. I think they definitely outplayed us, and I think anyone looking at it would agree. Give that pitcher a lot of credit. She really was the heart and soul of that team.”
While the Titans’ success was unquestionably a team effort, it all begins on the mound in the world of fast pitch softball, and South had a pair of standout pitchers.
Consider only that Fran Carrullo allowed just two earned runs in 59 innings during the playoffs for a miniscule earned run average of 0.24.
During the regular season, Carrullo allowed five runs in 65 innings (0.54 ERA) while sophomore Haileigh Stocks gave up a pair of earned runs in 38 innings for an ERA of 0.37.
Offensively, sophomore Morgan Decker was the team’s big gun, finishing the regular season with a remarkable .560 batting average (28-for-58). She also scored 15 runs and drove in 14. Sophomore Haileigh Stocks was next in line with a .439 average (18-for-50) and a team-high 19 runs scores. She also had 12 RBIs and a slugging percentage of .659.
The other everyday players - Jae Epstein (.375, 12-for-42), Lauren Klepchick (.366, 15-for-54), Michelle Gessner (.353, 12-for-43), Tyler Vitelli (.333, 7-for-33), Shana Steigerwalt (.306, 15-for-57) and Taylre Stocks (.297, 11-for-39) – also came up big for the Titans.
In the playoffs, Haileigh Stocks (.401) and Decker (.320, seven RBIs) led the Titans offensively.
But those stats, according to Robinson, do not begin to tell the story of a squad that was a team in the truest sense of the word.
“It’s not just a clique of starters,” the Titans’ coach said. “It’s the starters and non-starters, the varsity and jayvee – they’re always picking each other up, and that is what a team should be about, and that’s why our team has the depth that it does.
“Everyone practices together every day. It doesn’t matter if you’re a varsity starter or a jayvee non-starter. They were together the whole season. They were encouraging each other. They learn a lot from each other.”
Upon their return to school on Friday, the Titans were greeted by teachers, students and fans offering well wishes for an unparalleled season.
“They were e-mailing me and saying congratulations, and they were saying I should be so proud of the team, and that’s exactly what I am,” Robinson said. “The school is proud of us, and I’m proud of us.
“At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about. As long as you’re happy with what you do and you put your best out there – you’re not a winner just because you put a gold medal around your neck.”
That being said – the goal for next year is to add a piece of gold to the Titans’ hardware collection.
“Each year we get a step further,” Carrullo said. “Two years ago, we got past the second round of the playoffs. Last year we went to the semis, and now we’ve gotten to the state championship. Next year, I hope, is icing on the cake, and we finish it off.”
Robinson was cautious when the subject of next season came up in conversation.
“We can’t look at next season and say, ‘We’ll definitely make it there because we did this year and we’re graduating just two girls,’” she said. “You never know what’s going to happen. You have to play every game.
“Do we have the talent and the heart on the team coming back? I’m going to say probably yes, but who knows where we’ll end up next year. It’s a ways away, but to me a successful season is one in which you can hold your head up and be proud and know you did something great for yourselves and for each other, and you enjoyed it and loved the experience you had.”
Talk to any of the players, and they will tell you just how much they enjoyed the experience of the season just completed.
“It was very special,” Carrullo said. “The chemistry flowed, the girls were great, and I’m just so proud. We’ll be so anxious for next year. We’re going to be facing a lot of the same teams – another been-there, done-that. I hope this is the push forward we need to finish it off next year.”
The Titans closed out the year with a 21-3 record. They were the second best team in the State of Pennsylvania on Friday, and that is impressive by any standard.
“The only sad part in my heart is for the seniors,” Robinson said. “I just feel for them. I’m going to miss them. There was only two (Steigerwalt and Taylre Stocks), but their presence was felt.
“I love this team. It’s not that I haven’t loved teams in the past, but this team had such a good chemistry. They’re just a nice group. There are always some personalities that clash, but they’re really just a good group. I’m just so proud of how they conducted themselves, how they represented our school and what they wanted our team to be about and the way all the girls embraced each other.”
And in the end, that’s what matters most.
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