Molloy in search of more success

Posted

Molloy is finding its way after graduating four four-year starters that led the team to the NCAA Division II Softball College World Series a season ago.

The Lady Lions (11-9) rode a three-game winning streak into this week after splitting with Merrimack and sweeping Holy Family in two-game series at home March 17-18. The Rockville Centre school seeks a return to the national championship round after getting bounced by West Virginia Wesleyan and Humboldt State in the eight-team double elimination tournament last May.

“Merrimack was a big matchup for us because at the time they were ranked twenty-fourth in the nation,” said head coach Susan Cassidy-Lyke.

Prior to playing Merrimack, the Lions won a dramatic neutral-site home game versus Northwood, 7-5, on March 15. Tied at 5-5 in the eighth inning, senior Sarah Rambo smacked a ball over the left field fence for a two-out, two-run walk-off homer.

Molloy opened the season 4-2 on the road at Myrtle Beach, defeating Eastern Stroudsburg, Lock Haven, Concord and Clarion, before heading to Florida where they took just four out of 10 games.

While the offense has sometimes sputtered, Cassidy-Lyke expects her bats will come around. She is also looking for her players to improve on the mound and with their gloves if they are to contend this spring.

Junior starting hurler Jenna Turato, who tallied 17 wins last year, is filling a void left by Chelsea Hawks, who graduated after winning Pitcher of the Year in the East Coast Conference with 20 wins and a 1.7 ERA. A Carey High School alum, Turato started the season 5-0 but has since lost five games and has a 2.60 ERA.

Cassidy-Lyke is encouraged by the experience Turato gained pitching in the regionals and National Championships last season, but needs her to handle the big games as well as Hawk did last season.

“Jenna has to step into that role,” she said. “She’s done a good job to start us off. I think we need to see a little bit more from her and I think she can give it to us.”

The coach also needs Turato to continue to lead two freshmen on the pitching staff. Fellow right-hander Tonianne Larson from Long Beach is 4-0 with 1.80 ERA over 31 innings and was named conference Rookie of the Week in mid-March. Lefty Courtney Greene landed a spot in the rotation after winning a Suffolk County championship at East Islip and All-State First Team honors in 2017.

Among the defensive shifts Cassidy-Lyke made after four starters departed was sending junior Kaitlyn Snyder—the team’s best offensive player with 10 doubles and a .354 average hitting leadoff—to second base from left field.

Another offensive leader with a .352 average, Christina Heyer will replace Snyder in an outfield that has become the team’s rock.

Fellow senior Olivia Banulski provides exceptional stability in centerfield as a fourth-year starter.  She is grooming freshman right fielder Sarah Glaser as her successor in center for 2019. Banulski and Glaser are adept slap hitters from the left side of the plate.

Meanwhile, Rambo has made a seamless transition from first base, where she played last year, to third, her position in high school.

Greene took over at first and, in addition to her star rising on the mound, leads the team with 16 RBIs and has three homers while hitting .333.  

Sophomore Mikaela Tribby was sidelined several games with an injured thumb and is slated to return this week or next to rotate with Greene at first and produce some pop with her bat.

“I’ve always been a big defensive coach, and we’ve always stayed in games because we’ve played well defensively, so I’d like to see us tighten up our defense,” Cassidy-Lyke said about her moves.