Sports
Mepham Softball Built Tough for Spring Season
Coach calls for timely hitting and strong defense to carry them through the season.
The Mepham Girls Varsity Softball team is poised for another successful season. The Lady Pirates are coming off a successful 2009 season and look to continue that momentum into this season and advance farther into the 2010 playoffs.
The team didn't have many holes in the lineup to fill. Mepham lost several seniors to graduation and remarkably only have one senior currently on the roster for this year. With the majority of the lineup coming from the younger class, this team could be seeing some wins on a consistent basis for a long time.
The Mepham Lady Pirates will be coached by one of Bellmore's own, Mike Muscara. Born and raised in Bellmore, this Mepham graduate said he knows what it takes to get this team to the next level.
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"We have a lot of girls returning this year, "said Muscara.
The projected roster looks strong, compiled of mostly juniors and sophomores.
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"The key to success for this team is timely hitting and strong defense," said Muscara.
The Lady Pirates are slated in League AA Class I, which is known to be one of the most competitive divisions in all the large schools on Long Island. The League contains Oceanside Sailors, East Meadow Jets, Carey Seahawks, Long Beach Bulldogs and MacArthur Generals High Schools.
"Carey has a strong team and great pitching," said Muscara.
The Lady Pirates saw their season end in the first round of the playoffs last year in a heart wrenching 6-4 defeat to Hicksville. This year the team looks for improvement. A returning player that may be key to the Lady Pirates success is pitcher Victoria Gunnels.
The Lady Pirates, wearing the garnet and gray, finished off their spring training with a exhibition game versus Bellmore JFK this past Friday to break off some of the remaining rust gained by a long season without action.
They look for their successful season to start with three games on the road, the first Tuesday at 4:15 p.m. against Bethpage in a non-league game, followed by Long Beach and Farmingdale. Then come support your Lady Pirates at their first home game of the season on April 6 against Carey at 4:15 p.m.
