Thursday, October 1, 2026
Mepham softball coach Tom Simone is over the moon with the development his roster has experienced in recent years. After capturing back-to-back county championships in 2021 and 2022, the Pirates have regrouped to form yet another titanic group, which could be poised to make a similar run.
“I have 12 juniors on the roster, but I think five of them I pulled up in eighth grade, and then they had a little bit more as freshmen,” Simone said. “So these girls have been together now with me for four years. And then having the four seniors, they're in control of their team, which is really nice.”
Most of Mepham’s contributors might have another year, but outfielder Avery Betancourt is one of four seniors trying to make one last run in Nassau Class AA. In the March 25 season opener against MacArthur, she earned the 100th hit of her varsity career in a convincing 8-0 victory over MacArthur.
“This is the start of her fifth year,” Simone said. “So basically, she almost did it in four. She also has, to date, 62 stolen bases. But no, for MacArthur, it was just a good performance, defensively with the pitching and offensively with the bats.”
While many softball coaches depend on one pitcher to carry them through multiple games, Simone depends on a rotation which may cycle through for one another. Junior Keira Ulmschneider will lead the way and will be helped along by senior Jessica Heine, junior Frankie Dato, and freshmen Olivia Zukowski and Laci Linekin.
“Olivia, who's my freshman, is going to pretty much dominate being the closer this year,” Simone said. “I have a bunch of middle relievers. between Jess, Jessica, Frankie, and Laci. I have a lot of options this year with a roster of 19.”
After defeating MacArthur, the Pirates dropped their next two games to Syosset and Seaford, taking nothing away from their season-long potential. On March 30, Ulmschneider pitched a gem, only to be outdueled by Seaford ace Riley Betz, who struck out 14 Mepham batters in a 3-2 game.
“Seaford was a tough loss because we gave them all the runs with four errors,” Simone said. “We should have won that game.”
Alongside Betancourt in a loaded Mepham lineup, Heine and Linekin combined for five hits in seven at-bats in the win over MacArthur. When they’re not pitching, Heine is a key playmaker at second base, while Linekin can fill in as needed.
Senior catcher DeAnna Cinquemani and junior third baseman Lauren Leo have also made an instant impact at the plate, rounding out a Mepham lineup which offers little chance for opposing pitchers to escape. Leo and Zukowski racked up a pair of RBIs each against MacArthur, while Cinquemani went 2-for-3 in the victory.
Simone said the goal is to create a unit so glued together that it could produce at any point in the lineup. Despite having 12 juniors, most of the girls have already been playing together so long that familiarity is a key factor. It’s a highly potent outlook for a school with a history of repeat success.
