Sports Profile: MHS's Tori Sneden

Rising MHS senior Tori Sneden was invited to participate at one of the eight summer showcases this week as part of her club team, Rampage 18U Gold.  She recently competed for a chance to play college softball with players from all over the northeast at a camp in central Pennsylvania. 

The showcases are just one of the instruments that colleges use to gauge the caliber of high school players, be it basketball, baseball, softball and other sports.

For softball, the showcases include five days on the diamond with two days as an individual showcase where players like Sneden can display their skills for college coaches and scouts.  The other three days are showcase games for the colleges. 

Sneden has had a big year in the circle for the Lady Mounties.  She was chosen for the All Super Essex Conference Liberty first team and helped lead her team to back-to-back SEC Liberty division titles.

During her junior season she compiled a 12-7 record with an ERA of 4.17, while having a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 78 to 35. 

"You want to work on your movement with your pitches," said Sneden who throws six different pitches. "It's a different ballgame in the summer because you are going up against athletes that are also looking to be recruited by colleges."

One of the areas she was most excited about improving was her hitting.  She batted cleanup, a placement that surprised her at the beginning of the season.

For 2011 she compiled a .365 batting average while smacking a home run and collecting 14 RBI. As a junior, she also two triples and three doubles with an on-base percentage of .427.

With Sneden's work in the circle, Montclair made it to another Group 4 North 1 state sectional title game.  Though the Lady Mounties considered the experience a success, they ultimately fell to Morris Hills. 

Looking back on the 2011 season, there is no doubt on her mind which game was the one she will cherish.  "It was definitely the upset of North Bergen," said Sneden.  In that state playoff game, the Lady Mounties were ninth seeded going into it and North Bergen was the top seed.  

"A lot of people were saying we won't make the finals," she recalled.  "A lot of the fire that Montclair is known for came out. We showed that we belonged in the sectional final."

In that game, the right hander went the distance and gave up only one run in the bottom of the first inning while striking out seven.  Montclair scored a 3-1 victory over North Bergen.

For the 2011 season, the Mounties hurler said it was her improvement with the change-up that helped her through the season -- especially against North Bergen. "[Coach Kristin Gervasio] has been on me to develop my change-up," said Sneden. "It had been my weakest pitch... in that [North Bergen] game, it worked very well and really fooled them." 

Sneden added, "That game really gave us confidence to go on the state tournament run." 

In terms of her recruitment process beyond 2012, colleges cannot talk to incoming seniors as of yet.  But Sneden already has a favorite going into her last high school year: Hamilton College in upstate New York.  

"The college encourages athletes to play two seasons," said Sneden, who also plays volleyball. "I love softball and I picked up volleyball just to get in shape for softball."