Absegami's Becca Maguire Showing Power at the Plate

softball coach Pat Esemplare compared the home run race between his No. 3 and No. 4 hitters to the one Major Leaguers Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had in 1998.

Kelly Lupton and Becca Maguire had no idea what their coach was talking about.

The Braves duo may not be well-versed on baseball history, but the point is clear. The two Braves sluggers are putting up impressive power numbers and the calendar doesn’t even read May yet.

"They didn’t know who they were," Esemplare said.

It’s not a surprise that Lupton is blasting home runs, something she has done throughout her career, but for Maguire it’s a new weapon in her arsenal.

Although Maguire hit close to .500 last year as a sophomore, only one of her hits cleared a fence. However, this season, she is on a power tear.

The Absegami clean-up hitter has already hit a school record seven home runs this season, including a two-run blast to beat Hammonton.

“She is hot as anything right now,” Esemplare said.

Maguire, who also has 22 RBIs in 13 games, wasn’t satisfied with being a singles hitter. She turned to local hitting instructor Jason Law, and the work has paid off.

“He teaches you to hit with power,” she said. “It wasn’t much of a change. It’s just hip rotation and swinging faster and harder. That makes the ball go farther.

“Even though I hit well last year I was not happy with my swing. I hit a lot of singles. I thought I should have produced more power. I was happy with any changes that would make the ball go farther."

She makes it sound simple, and is also making it look simple. The ball is jumping off her bat. A perfect example was her home run against rival Oakcrest.

“She is really driving the ball,” Esemplare said. “We have a fence that is 190-feet around, but when she hits the ball there is no doubt about it. People say I’ve never seen a girl hit it harder and I say well you didn’t see the one she hit in the Millville Tournament or the one against Oakcrest. Oakcrest has breakaway bases that are worn out and she went down to the ground rounding first base. She still scored without a throw. It’s as hard as I’ve seen anyone hit a softball. She makes it look easy.”

Both Maguire and Lupton have a chance to eclipse the school record of 10 home runs, but there is no competition there.

The two Braves are rooting for each other.

“We kind of stay away from it so we don’t have any competition,” Maguire explained. “We are much more focused on winning and hitting to win than to hit home runs to beat each other. We work together and I’m happy for her and I think it’s the other way around too."

“I think we are doing a good job pushing each other,” Lupton said. “It’s
actually a good thing.”