Sports
Softball Team Is Living 'Next Season' Now
The girls' softball team looks to erase the bad memories of 2010 with improvements in 2011.
“There’s always next season.”
More often than not, those very words are spoken by athletes, coaches and fans at the close of each season. And Collingswood High School's softball team is no different.
In 2010, the Panthers finished with a 5-14 overall record. And with that memory still lingering, head softball coach Abby Adams is living next season right now.
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Adams, who's approaching her fifth season as head coach of Panthers' softball, has plenty to look forward to as the beginning of her newest campaign draws near. Adams is returning seven starters from last year’s squad, including junior first baseman Stephanie Fultano—who earned all-conference honors in each of her first two years with Collingswood.
In addition to Fultano, the team will returns juniors Nicole Hall as the leadoff batter and Taylor Harkness in left field. And another junior expected to make an impact on this year's team, Erika Witherbee, spent significant time in the infield, the outfield and on the mound last season.
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Sophomore Stephanie Williams will resume her role as a starting pitcher for the Panthers, while Melissa Cunningham is preparing for her second full season at shortstop. Sophomore Morgan Worthington is coming off of her freshman campaign, during which she joined Fultano on the all-conference second team.
“We were very young last year,” said Adams of her girls. “We’re coming back with a strong junior class.”
And hopefully for the Panthers, the experience younger players developed in 2010 will assist them through this season, against one of South Jersey’s strongest conferences.
“We have a lot of talent. Our success is obviously determined by how the team goes into each game, though," said Adams. "The team has to be more intense. They can’t be intimidated by our opponents. We have to take what we practice and put it into each game.”
The Panthers will open the season on Friday, April 1, with a visit from the Sterling High School Silver Knights. But until their season opener against Somerdale, the Panthers have two more scrimmages. The next scrimmage is this Friday, at home, against Florence Township Memorial High School.
