Baldwin cranks up the offense

Baldwin’s bats came alive during the holiday break, as the Lady Bruins exploded for 33 combined runs in a pair of victories over Herricks (18-5 last Saturday) and Hempstead (15-0 on April 9) boosting the team to a 5-0 mark in Conference AA-II play.

“Herricks hadn’t allowed more than three runs in a game so [the production] came against a really good team,” coach Tom Llewellyn said.

Freshman Alex Burns continued to punish opposing pitchers, slugging a pair of home runs, driving in six and scoring four times. Now batting a hefty .722 with five homers and 22 runs batted in through seven games, Burns’ production at the plate even led to the Lady Highlanders walking her intentionally—with the bases loaded—in her third trip to the plate. “I’ve never seen that before,” Llewellyn said. “That’s the respect she’s getting and she’s only a ninth-grader.”

Senior Sara Heuser was 3-for-3 with her first homer, four RBIs and a pair of runs scored, while senior leadoff hitter Sophia Nicolas also smacked her first home run and scored three times. Nicolas has teamed with No. 2 hitter Jade Aponte, a senior, to combine for 29 runs and leads the team with five stolen bases while getting on base at a .792 clip. Aponte, meanwhile, has already worked out 13 walks as part of her on-base percentage of .583. “Sophia and Jade are setting the table and getting opportunities to score runs,” Llewellyn said. “With the 29 runs between them, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

As powerful as the offense was in pounding out 15 runs against the Lady Tigers—Burns again led the way with three hits, three runs and four RBIs—senior pitcher Melanie Sadowski needed little in the way of support. She pitched her first career no-hitter, struck out nine of the 15 batters she faced and retired two others on grounders in the five-inning win and now boasts a 1.60 earned run average. “She was hitting her locations nicely,” Llewellyn said, noting that Sadowski has increased her strikeout totals while limiting her free passes. “She’s getting ahead in the count and just has a lot of confidence.

“Pitching is so important in this sport and the best thing to do is not walk people. She’s walking less than two per game. She got better as last season went on, had a good offseason and came in [this spring] with her confidence already high.”

Experience has helped Baldwin get a leg up at the plate with the offense averaging 10.5 runs per game, but it’s also helped in the field where the team has returned eight players with previous starting experience.

Aponte has teamed up with senior Raquel Rodriguez at second base to solidify the middle of the defense, and the new catchers, sophomore Nicole Vanyi and freshman Yanique Spencer, have transitioned well to the varsity level. And when Rodriguez isn’t preventing runs in the field, she’s been giving Baldwin a second leadoff hitter out of the No. 9 spot in the order.