Bensalem Softball Preview

BENSALEM SOFTBALL PREVIEW

Coach: Erin Smith (1^st Year)

Assistant Coaches: Rob Sponheimer, Lauren Morrell, Scott Molle, Carley Smith & Stephanie Yost

Last year’s record: 6-10 SOL; 11-10 overall. Last season the Owls notched their first playoff win in 33 years.

Notable losses: The Owls lost three players to graduation - Jess Klein (Caldwell), Maddie Buechner (Bloomfield) & Emma Lostracco

Key returners: Seniors - Maggie Formichelli (Pitcher) & Kira Hutchinson (2^nd Base), Juniors – Ayva Knowles (Outfield) & Destiny Howard (3^rd Base), Sophomores – Angelina Sponheimer (1^st Base), Megan Klein (Shortstop), Mackenzie Kramer (Outfield) & Kayla Clarkson (Outfield/Pitcher)

Others to watch: Freshman – Ashlyn Merz (Catcher) & Adrianna Vargas (Outfield), Sophomore – Keira Seidman (Utility), Juniors – Camryn Pickering (Outfield) & Desiree Sellers (Outfield/Catcher), Senior -Delaney Bell (Outfield)

Strengths: “Despite being a relatively young team, we return a ton of experience; we return eight players, majority of whom had a ton of varsity starts last season. Maggie Formichelli is a senior this year, and the team will rely heavily on her experience in the circle and as a leader. We have two sophomores in Lina Sponheimer and Meg Klein who were among the team leaders in batting average last season. It’s nice to have that kind of strength in such young players. Our strength is we return the majority of the starting infield from last season and will rely heavily on that experience.”

Question marks:  “Our question mark is the outfield, Mackenzie Kramer suffered a bad concussion near the start of basketball season and still isn’t cleared to play, we are hoping she gets cleared soon because she is a key piece in our lineup. With Kenz out, the only outfield returner is our center fielder, Ayva Knowles, who is quick and makes some spectacular plays. We added six new players this season, and we have a completely new coaching staff, so we are still working on getting to know each other and how we fit together as a team.”

Outlook: “Despite being a new staff and adding a lot of new pieces, we have a lot of talent, and we look to build on last year’s playoff win. As a program, we want to improve and move forward, making playoff wins the new normal not something that happens every 33 years.”