Somers softball beats East Granby, 10-0, but Crusaders win small victories
Somers was victorious over East Granby in the 10-0 softball game, on May 8, but the Crusaders were all smiles, as they saw improvements in themselves during the game.
East Granby coach Erin Selavka said her very young squad, at 1-10, is focusing on small improvements and little victories along the way. The team had several standouts that graduated last year, currently has three seniors, including one who has never played softball before, and a lot of freshmen and juniors.
But, the growth has been great.
“We’ve made a lot of progress,” Selavka said. “We’ve had a lot of shaky spots. I’m not so hung up on the mistakes. We struck out 13 times earlier in the season, and today we only had three. So, I’m very pleased. We’re hitting our midseason stride.”
Depth is also an issue, with only 15 student athletes in the program, including one pitcher.
“In a perfect world, I’d have more than one. I’m hoping for other people to step up and learn it,” Selavka said, adding that attitude has not been a problem.
“I have a lot of players who are eager to try anything,” she said. “Anyone who’s willing to jump in and play and put in the work, I’m excited for.”
Somers coach Melanie Zamorski said her team, which improved to 10-5, has relied on young talent, including freshman pitcher Hailey Schafer.
“She’s been doing a good job keeping the ball around the plate, not issuing a lot of walks,” the coach said. “She’s been keeping us in a lot of games.”
Around her is a team that plays good defense, and doesn’t allow many extra bases off of errors. Hitting has been good, too. Senior heavy, the team is full of experience, but has some younger talented players, as well.
“When we have our bats hot, we’ve been really successful,” Zamorski said, adding that a little more consistency is what the Spartans need to keep the success going.
“We need to put the ball in play against quicker pitching,” she said. “That’s a big one – minimizing outs at the plate, minimizing strikeouts is a big thing we’re working on, and giving ourselves an opportunity to be in big games.”
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