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PVHS Softball Tigers on a Roll
by Dillon Chesnut
 | | PVHS Varsity softball seniors, L to R - Assistant Coach Heather Miench, Jeanne Coppa.(1B) Michelle Campagniolo (CF), Karen Fisher (LF, P), Melissa Mazin (2B), Katie McNamara, Katie Eyring (SS, C), Coach Tracy Parchen. |
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The Putnam Valley varsity girls’ softball team, led by Captains Katie McNamara, Katie Eyring, and Melissa Mazin, is now a little more than halfway through an impressive season. With a 12 and 1 record as of May 4th, the Tigers are on course to repeat their 2004 trip to Sectionals, and hopefully surpass last year’s results.
McNamara, who is a double threat with strong pitching and powerful hitting, leads the team in every way. Standing at the center of the diamond, she is truly the hub of this team. "Katie Mac," as she is called, leads the team in every category, with a .49 ERA, a .610 batting average, two home runs, and 18 RBIs. Fellow senior and second base, Melissa Mazin, another backbone of this squad, is in second place with a .467 average. Both Mazin and McNamara have signed college deals—Mazin to play field hockey at Sacred Heart and McNamara to pitch at Southern Illinois.
The other seniors on the team are Katie Eyring—shortstop and relief catcher—who us a strong hitter with a great throwing arm; Michelle Campagniolo—outfield—who is hitting and fielding well; Karen Fisher, whose relief pitching has been powerful; and last but not least, Jeanne Coppa, who, at first base, is second in RBIs with 13 and has been ramping up her hitting with some great long hits.
Maggie Chesnut, a junior, is McNamara’s starting catcher and is hitting well despite two early-season knee injuries. Juniors Jen Taylor, Nicole Ricapito, and Ashley Hertzel have provided strong outfield relief. Sophomores Kim Kastuk and Christie Cardinale are both utility infielders with impressive skills. Coming back from an early-season shoulder injury, Kastuk is batting an impressive .300 and fielding well. Sophomore Annie Eyring has done some smart relief work in the infield, as well. The lone freshman on the team is Chelsea Simunek, a very smart and powerful hitter who, at third base, is batting .278 with 10 RBIs on the season. These players will form the backbone of Coach of the Year (in 2004) Tracy Parchen’s 2005-06 team as she begins the process of rebuilding the dynasty that McNamara and her senior teammates will leave behind in June.
Pleasantville (3-3), Kennedy (0-5), and Westlake (5-3) are the three teams that PV has yet to face, as well as a rematch with Lakeland (whom the Tigers beat 7-0 despite strong Lakeland pitching). The John Jay Tournament over the April 30th weekend gave the Tigers a taste of tough competition to come as they head toward Sectionals; a heartbreaker 3-2 loss to John Jay Cross River and their star pitcher, Ali Gardiner, left the Tigers even more determined to achieve glory.
Coach Tracy Parchen commented: "As for the season and as for the sectionals approaching, Ms. Miench (assistant coach Heather Miench) and the team and I feel very confident that we can win the sectional title this year. We have what it takes. Not only has Katie McNamara been pitching great, but I also feel that the team as a whole has been working really hard and playing solid defense every game. Our confidence in hitting has improved but still needs to get to the next level and we still have some time for that. Even though we just received our first loss of the season against John Jay Cross River (who were also undefeated at the time) we played a great game against them. They are the best team we will see all season...so if we can play with them we can play with anyone. We will not see a team that strong in our conference. We need to stay focused and just do what we set our goal to be in the beginning of the season and that was to win the section. They are a great group of girls...they deserve it!"
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