Lady Rebels Ready to Take Their Cuts on the Diamond

If the weather holds up, the Howell Lady Rebels will be looking to start their A North softball schedule on a strong note Saturday morning with a short trip to Freehold Township High School.

Just a year removed from a campaign that saw them finish with an impressive record of 18-8, the girls will be back on the diamond for another run at the division title. Success in conference will also help prepare them for a run at the Central Jersey Group IV title. 

This marks the first year that the team will have co-head coaches in Elissa Connell and Sandra Hempel, and the pair hope they have the players needed to help them reach their goals. 

A big help with that is the fact that an incredible eight starters are back from last year. That includes seniors Nicole Daukshus, Steph Gilbert, Christina Polihrom and Lauren Van Wie. While those four will be wrapping up their Howell careers this year, a group of talented juniors will have another year to pick up valuable experience.

Those members of the class of 2012 include Cassidy Brozowski, Steph Grainger and Lauren Saal. Also back is sophomore Kelly Hardiman who broke into the varsity ranks as a freshman and is back for her sophomore season. And although she did not start for the Rebels last year, junior Carsin Connor will look to make a bigger impact with the squad this year.

With so many players back from last year, the Rebels only have a few spots that need to be filled as the season gets underway. Senior Gabby Ambrozia will be looking to make the most of her last few months at the school as a member of the team, while sophomores Julia Moscato and Monica Smith will get their first experiences at the varsity level.

The coaches said offensive and defensive consistency will be the most important keys to success as they work their way through the year. If they can do that, they should be competitive in the talented division. As for the teams that should present the biggest challenge, the coaches pointed to Middletown South and Middletown North as the other teams to beat.

Although there is rain called for the first few days of next week, the Lady Rebels are scheduled to host Middletown South on Monday in their first big test of the season. Their next challenge game comes the following Wednesday when they make the trip to Middletown North.