Sports Recap: Young Quakers Stand Out

Horace Greeley’s softball squad may have been young but it proved it belonged in the postseason this spring as it earned an 11-9 record, including a 1-0 win in the opening-round of the Section 1 Class AA tournament against No. 5 White Plains.

The No. 12 Quakers won the game on the strength of an epic pitching performance by sophomore sensation Jamie Weisser. Weisser threw a complete game and registered the game-winning RBI.

“That was a huge win,” Weisser said. “Most people thought White Plains was going to win that game and to win it was a huge upset for us to pull off. It proved not only to other people but to ourselves that we could do anything. It’s definitely a huge confidence booster going into next season.”

What’s also a confidence boost for next season is that three of the Quakers four awards winners will be returning to play for Greeley next spring. Weisser led the way by earning all-section honors.

When asked what it meant to her to earn that honor, Weisser said winning any award is special, especially when it’s of the all-section variety.

What made it extra special to earn all-section for Weisser was that she was able to earn that award as a sophomore.

“I worked hard every game,” Weisser said. “Just like all the other players who earned their awards, I played my heart out. It’s a major honor to get it over upperclassmen.”

Earning all-section honorable mention honors was senior catcher Hannah Marks.

“Hannah is a great player all-around, defensively and offensively, she also got honorable mention last year,” Weisser said. “She definitely deserved it but I think she could have been all-section. She was definitely a huge help to me on the mound and to our team in general.”

Two other players that were a huge help to the Quakers’ success this season were all-league junior first baseman Meryl Rosenberg and all-league honorable mention junior shortstop Danielle Walkerwicz.

Weisser said that Rosenberg is someone that could do the job either at the plate or on the field at her first-base position.

Walkerwicz is of the same ilk, according to Weisser.

“Danielle offensively is a great player,” Weisser said. “In the field, she definitely knows how to play shortstop. She knows how to cover ground. She was a huge help to the team this year and like Meryl is going to be a big help to us next year as well.”
Weisser is confident that herself, Rosenberg and Walkerwicz can keep up the positive momentum from this season and carry it over into next year.

“The three of us (award winners) that are coming back all help the team in different ways,” Weisser said. “Of course we are going to miss Hannah, she was a big leader on our team, but I think we can come back from losing her. The three of us will have to carry the team next year.”

To wrap it up, Weisser said that she was happy with the season that her squad had, especially considering that it had lost seven seniors from a year ago.

“We proved to ourselves that we deserved what we accomplished and we were here to win,” Weisser said. “We had a great season and we hope to go farther next year.”

Adult softball

Quaker Hill Tavern (6-0, League A) and Fire Department (8-0, League C) are in first place in their respective leagues in New Castle Recreation and Parks Commission Adult Slow Pitch Softball.

Krabs, The Dirty Mac and Wings are all tied for first in League B, each with a 6-1 record.

Power win

The Chappaqua Power (4-2-2) defeated the visiting Rye Breakers 2-1 in the girls 14-3 division of the Westchester Youth Soccer League.