BRISTOL:Lady Warriors back in states!

By Steve Sherman
Sports Editor

Jenn Jaeger.
Nicole Adamson.
Kelly Pinto.
Sam Dougherty.
Amanda Spadaccino.
They’re all Bristol High seniors and they’re all well aware that the time they have left as Lady Warriors is limited. They’ve been playing for Mike Lalli’s team now for the last four years, yet somehow they don’t want it to end.
“We’re all seniors and we know what time of the year it is,” stated Jaeger, the team’s shortstop. “We want to play as far into [the month of] June as we can. None of us want to see it end.”
After winning their third consecutive District One Class A softball title a little over a week ago in a 13-3 romp over archrival Christopher Dock, the Warriors had time to reflect on what has been yet another fantastic campaign.
“Every year, Dock gives us a pretty good run for our money,” explained Jaeger. “This year, our hitting just improved so much when it came to the district championship.
“We went into that game hoping for the best and everyone did what they were supposed to and that’s why we came out with a win.”
In the title tilt, freshman Kaley Crohe hit a pair of triples against the Pioneers and junior Mariah Strobele hit a bases-clearing double with the sacks jammed to put Bristol on top, 9-2, in the fifth inning. Kiersten Cain pushed Kelly Pond home with the 13th run in the bottom of the sixth, officially making the Warriors district champs once more.
After three consecutive one-run games--the sides split a pair of 2-1 contests and Bristol won the battle for the BAL championship 6-5--the Warriors had finally broke through.
“With [Dock righthander Jocelyn Hickey] pitching, we were a little more familiar with her and what she was going to throw us,” explained Jaeger. “Even though those others were such close games, in this one, we were just able to put more hits together and score a lot more runs.”
Bristol came back Thursday, May 28 and put a 22-0 spanking on Parkway West (8-9). The lopsided win at LaSalle University sends the Warriors back to states today where they get set to face District 11 winner Williams Valley 2 p.m. at Blue Mountain High School in Orwigsburg.
Against Parkway, winning pitcher Kiersten Cain was perfect in the circle, striking out 8 of the 12 batters she faced. In winning her 16th game of the year, Cain set a new record for strikeouts in a season with 182, breaking the old mark held by Stacy Bonner, who fanned 179 in a single campaign.
When Cain came into the season, Kiersten had big shoes to fill, those of the now departed Shawna Walp, last year’s BAL Player of the Year, who helped lead Bristol to the last two district title games with her pitching. Replacing her services would not be easy but Cain has shown that she is more than able.
“When I first started, we were really lucky because we had Shawna and she’s a strikeout pitcher so she was able to get many strikeouts for us throughout the year.
“Kiersten stepped up for us this year and she’s exactly the same.”
Cain has earned the same status as Walp--as BAL Player of the Year for the current campaign.
And when classmate Ashley Cantiello has stepped into the circle, Bristol doesn’t seem to lose a thing. Cantiello has won three of the games that she has started this year.
“Knowing we have two good pitchers in Kiersten (Cain) and Ashley (Cantiello), a good catcher and a good third baseman, it makes us feel that the next couple of years are going to be pretty good years for Bristol softball.”
Offensively, the players pushing runs across the plate in Bristol’s big win over Parkway included Angelica Rodriguez (3), Cantiello (2), Kaley Crohe (2), Kelee Pinto (2), Danielle Reilly (2), Cain, Morgan Cullen, Dougherty, Dugger, Jaeger, Leighann Morris, Alexis Rodriguez, Mariah Strobele and Amanda Weir.
The good news is that all of the above return to the lineup next season except for Pinto, Dougherty and Jaeger. Dugger hit a pair of triples in the contest; Reilly went 2-for-2 on the afternoon.
Jaeger explains a little about the youth movement going on with the Warriors.
“A lot of these girls have been playing travel ball for years, which makes them really good competitors,” stated Jaeger.
“When they came up, we never expected them to be exactly what we needed but they turned out to be great athletes, contributing to the team so much.
“They turned out to be a really good asset; without them, our team is not complete.”
Though they’ve won 19 games thus far, the Warriors’ season got off to a rough start on the injury front as Bristol began the current campaign without the services of Nicole Adamson and Sam Dougherty.
“We really missed Nicole’s bat in the lineup and also Sam Dougherty--she’s a very good slapper that we missed in the lineup,” stated Jaeger.
“Having them back has been such a great boost to the team.”
Both players were first team All-BAL last season and replacing Adamson at catcher would be no easy task. But freshman Kaley Crohe stepped into the lineup and forced Lalli to make a spot for her in the lineup. The coach did, positioning Adamson at DH and in the outfield upon her return and leaving Crohe stationed behind the plate.
“When Nicole got hurt, we realized we needed somebody to come in and fill that gap quickly,” explained Jeager. “Kaley ended up stepping up and doing a great job.”
“When coach put Kaley in, he realized that she was just as big a competitor and could do a good job behind the plate and batting in the lineup as a slapper,” explained Jaeger.
“Leaving her there tells him that for the next couple of years, he’s going to have a really good catcher behind the plate.”
While this group of seniors will eventually depart from the hallways of Bristol High and also the fields that line Jefferson Ave., you get the feeling the program is left in good hands.
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NOTES: The May 28 win over Parkway West was Lalli’s 400th coaching triumph.