In Search of a State Championship, the Time for Lansdowne Softball is Now

Although they are located in the far southwest corner of Baltimore County, for over a decade Lansdowne softball has created some serious noise in the area that even the likes of Eastern Tech or Hereford can’t escape hearing.

Under head coach Jamie Izdebski, the Vikings have finished at .500 or better in each of the last 12 seasons, including a state championship appearance in 2009 and 17-3 record a season ago.

However, with five seniors and one junior remaining from that runner-up team in 2009, Lansdowne is as motivated as it’s ever been to get back to the championship and win the whole darn thing.

“I think we are really hungry,” said center fielder Kelli Pease, a senior. “A lot of us have been playing together—even before high school—and know each other pretty well. We want to make it to states one more time, especially because a lot of us are seniors and it’s our last year together.”  

The varsity holdovers from 2009 include: seniors Pease, second baseman Hunter Long, first baseman Stephanie Lohmeyer, third baseman Jesse Dore, leftfielder Ashlie Smith and junior pitcher Maude McCourry.

For the Vikings “together” is a very key word. The squad, having played so many years collectively in high school and travel ball, is so familiar with each other that often times Izdebski’s role as a coach is diminished because the team can handle itself so well on the field on its own.

Izdebski went as far as saying that her team’s maturity even makes her job boring at times—but in a good way.  

“They do know one another and they know one another’s strengths and weaknesses and have been working together enough that they can talk to each other, ‘hey you’re tracking the ball you need to do this or you need to move up in the infield,’” Izdebski said. “They communicate with one another and know one another very well.”

The coach also pointed out that her strongest leaders help comprise the middle of the diamond. With Pease in center, Long at second and McCourry on the mound, seemingly each level of the defense is equipped to handle any scenario sent their way.

Equally, if not more important, than their leadership abilities, all three are also incredibly sound defensive players.  

In addition to McCourry’s multitude of effective pitches, Izdebski touts the hurler as the quickest off the mound defensively to field a ball as any pitcher she’s ever seen.

Long, originally a shortstop, transitioned over to second base when Izdebski noticed that McCourry induced so many late swings from hitters (primarily right-handers), it made the most sense to put her best infielder where the balls were being hit. Long has answered that call by consistently giving up her body to make plays.

“She will lay out for any ball,” Izebski said. “If she’s not dirty, she’s not happy.”

In the outfield, Pease’s immense speed coupled with her strong ability to track fly balls makes her a thorn in the side of any batter who is forced to deal with their potential hits falling harmlessly in the web of the center fielder’s glove.  

Oh, and don’t think that Pease doesn’t get any satisfaction out of being that thorn.

 “That’s the best, I like making the catch that people think you aren’t going to get to,” Pease said. “And, the other team does get mad when you take that hit from them—and it saves runs.”   

With pitching and defense virtually squared away, Izdebski has placed a heavy emphasis on hitting this season, feeling as though her squad didn’t reach its offensive potential a year ago.

Because Lansdowne’s schedule pits them against quality opponents off and on, the Vikings must adjust to different pitching abilities game-in and game-out, something they struggled with a year ago.

“With the divisions the way that they are, we will go from a dominating pitcher to a non-dominating pitcher,” Izdebski said. “Sometimes that’s hard, going from someone throwing in the mid-50s to someone throwing in the 30s who has an arc. Getting the adjustment down is a little bit difficult at times. It’s something we’ve been working on as a team.”

However, just like in the field, leading the way for the Vikings are Pease, Long and McCourry, who fill the first through third spots in the batting order.

Batting lead-off, Pease will do whatever it takes to be the table-setter and reach base to open the game. Whether it’s bunting for a hit, slapping the ball the other way or beating out a grounder with her speed, she doesn’t care as long as it means she’s started the game off the right way for her squad.

“I love that. I love getting everybody started,” Pease said. “I feel like once I get on base everybody else follows. I feel like when I don’t get it started it’s a little harder to get everyone else going. I like being the one to get it started. I love [the pressure].”  

Following Pease are Long—who taught herself to hit from both sides of the plate—and the powerful McCourry in the three-hole, who led the Vikings in runs batted in a season ago.

After that, the lineup doesn’t get much easier. With Lohmeyer, sophomore Marlaina McCourry and  junior Sera Stull following in the order, the opposing pitcher is never given an easy out.

With so much promise to begin the season, Lansdowne has several goals in mind including beating arch rival Eastern Tech (who knocked the Vikings out in the region semifinals last year), winning a county championship and making a return trip to the state finals in College Park.

However, Izdebski is stressing to her team that in order to achieve those goals, they can’t overlook any opponent and must take it one game a time.

“We’re very big on wanting to stay focused and take every team as, that team is the state championship,” Izdebski said. “We want to look at everyone as being equal and not look at certain teams as not being as strong as other teams.”  

Certainly, it’s a task that’s easier said than done with the amount of talent on this year’s squad, however the Vikings also possess the leadership and team unity to heed their coach’s advice and come out on top.

“We’re together. That’s a big strength,” Pease said. “Everybody wants to work hard and has the same goal.”