Season Preview: Optimism is High for Wakefield Softball

Despite graduating a quartet of key starters from last year’s team, there is reason for optimism around Veterans Field this spring.

When he took over the reigns of Wakefield’s softball program after the 2009 season, Richard Quattrocchi shook things up. After spending 15 years as an assistant coach at Middlesex League rival Reading, he let it be known that nobody’s name was written in permanent ink on the lineup card.

The result: after a couple of key positional changes, the Lady Warriors finished the year at 14-6 (13-5 ML). It was Wakefield’s best season in 10 years, as they ended up a mere game out of second, and just two out of first place in the tightly contested Middlesex League standings. The Lady Warriors lost in the first round of Division 2 North Sectionals to Reading in a 1-0 pitcher’s duel. Perhaps more importantly, Wakefield ended the regular season in style, and will begin the 2011 season on an eight-game regular season winning streak.

The Lady Warriors bade farewell to four senior captains, among them Nicole Mercurio, a hurler Quattrocchi called the “best pitcher in the Middlesex League, in the state, maybe.” Mercurio, the first Wakefield softball player to be named to the Boston Herald’s All-Scholastic Team since 1985, was also a ML All-Star last year. She tossed two no-hitters, two one-hitters and two two-hitters last season, while batting at a .478 clip out of the three hole. Mercurio was amongst the MIAA’s top aces last year, finishing with an earned run average of 0.39, while striking out 151 and walking just 40.

Wakefield also loses Shannon Cronan, the team’s leadoff hitter and a player Quattrocchi characterized as perhaps the finest defensive center fielder he has ever seen, third baseman Ashleigh Vargas, a 3-year ML All-Star, and Allie Page, who after previously playing catcher patrolled left field in 2010.

Page also figured in the emergence of Samantha LaPierre as a bona fide star behind the plate, as it was her unselfish view on switching to the outfield that allowed the transition to occur as seamlessly as possible.

“I told them (last year) that every position was open,” Quattrocchi said. “(Sam) wanted to try out for catcher. Allie was our catcher, but she got hurt. Sam seized the opportunity and never gave it up. Allie accepted left field ... if ever there was a player who embodied the “it’s all about the team” attitude, it was Allie Page.”

The net gain for the Lady Warriors has been tremendous. LaPierre has developed into one of the best backstops in the league, and is at the vanguard of Wakefield’s key returners. The senior even called pitches last season, helping Mercurio turn in her outstanding year, something that would have been the sole duty of the coach previously.

At the plate, LaPierre blossomed into a very dangerous hitter. She finished the season hitting .545. Before switching to catcher, LaPierre had batted just .177 as a left fielder. Her average never dipped below .500 in 2010.

The Lady Warriors won’t have to rely solely on NStar to supply the power this season either, as 1B/DH Megan Leary, who hit .428 last season, will also return to the lineup.

“She doesn’t get cheated,” Quattrocchi said. “She’s the best power hitter in the Middlesex League. She doesn’t hit the ball, she crushes the ball.”

While perhaps not putting up the type of home run numbers that garner attention, Leary’s pop is not to be underestimated. As Quattrocchi points out, the Lady Warriors play in a park whose depth routinely proves a bridge too far for the men’s team to conquer.

“It’s very hard to hit home runs in our park,” he said. “The men’s team can’t hit it out of there.”

At second base, Taylor Purcell returns to her familiar ground this year. Purcell hit .417 last year, and is projected to bat out of the three hole this season, with LaPierre hitting second and Leary fourth.

More importantly, Purcell is known to flash a little leather in the infield.

“Taylor played a flawless second base for us all year,” said Quattrocchi. “Great glove; very, very good hitter.”

Senior captain Maggie Hartney, who struggled some last season, is a player Quattrocchi hopes will regain her form.

“I need (Maggie) to step up this year,” he said. “I need her to be in my five hole.”

Another huge reason for optimism is the quality and dedication of Wakefield’s coaching staff, a fact that Quattrocchi couldn’t stress enough.

“I have the finest coaching staff a coach could have,” he said. “I know I have the best staff in the state.”

Nobody embodies the dedication and loyalty of Quattrocchi’s staff better than assistant freshman coach Dom Gasdia. Having been undergoing treatment for liver cancer, his second battle with the disease, according to Quattrocchi, Gasdia has been a fixture at practices nonetheless.

“He comes to practice every day,” Quattrocchi said. “I know there are days he comes in when he shouldn’t be there. He hasn’t missed a practice.”

Wakefield’s head coach also pointed out assistant varsity coaches Kevin Berry and Lisa Silva, JV coach Steph Martin, Joe Lowe, and unpaid assistant JV coach and freshman coach Charlie Rollins.

When asked about his optimism for the upcoming campaign, Quattrocchi relayed a story about another ML coach who, upon seeing Wakefield’s gaffer and his team, remarked “here come the one year wonders.”

“Really now,” replied Quattrocchi. “When do we play you guys?”

The coach was just kidding, but the Warriors boss wasn’t.

“I filed it away,” Quattrocchi said about the incident.

The Warriors strength this year may turn out to be depth, as Quattrocchi said 54 kids signed up for softball this spring--the most in nearly 20 years.

“We have a lot of depth,” he said. “A lot of depth. The girls have really been working hard ... if someone walks to a station, they’re going to get noticed in a negative way. I’m really pleased with that.”

Quattrocchi indicated that his goals for 2011 are three-fold.

“Or first goal is to make the tournament,” he said. “Second, to win the league and third to win a state title.

“I’d love to put a banner up for my seniors this year.”