Lady Colts Softball Prepare To Take It To The Next Level

While the softball season is just beginning, the sense and tone of the Lady Colts 2011 team is already beginning to emerge.

Coach Jason Boland got a chance to test out the talents of Calhoun's young but promising softball squad in an energetic scrimmage played on the Lady Colts’ home field last Thursday.

“Being that it's so early in the season, we are still putting the pieces together,” said Boland. “The team played well overall, and it was a great way to start the season. The new infusion of youth is going to be fun to watch, with one freshman and two eighth graders on the team – but the players who are moving from the younger crowd to positions as team leaders are going to have to play well for us to succeed.”

Success for a team like Lady Colts – which has been rebuilding the last few years – means steady improvement on the previous year.

After tying for the conference championship a few years ago, the team fell on hard times – including a difficult 0-19 season – but has climbed back out of that hole through a mixture of perseverance and pure refusal to give in.

“Last year, we were 5-11, but we lost several one-run games,” Boland said. “We took the first-place team into extra innings on their field, but errors cost us that game. I think that taught our team a lot about dedicating ourselves in practice and preparing for each game.”

Seasoned veterans like co-captains Jess Livingston and Ashley Loweree will be the ones who have to provide the leadership. Livingston, an All-Conference and All-Division player, is in her fifth and final year on varsity and is always tough on the mound, according to the Lady Colts coach.

“I’ve been pitching for the team since the eight grade,” Livingston said. “It has been tough, but we want this season to be successful. Our goal is to grow into a very competitive program.”

Livingston will be joined in the infield by four other players that have been named All-Division in the last two years: shortstop Ashley Lowerre, a senior; First baseman Danielle Losee, a junior; and sophomores Gianna Saladino at third base and Marisa Marcigliano.

Lowerre, an All-Division senior, said that she’s excited about the new prospects for the team. “We have a lot of new talent who can carry the team into the future,” she said.

Those new faces include pitcher and infielder Lauren Savarese, a freshman, and eighth grader Lauren Trimarco.

“Savarese was the only freshman to make varsity and stood out during tryouts because of her professional approach to the game; she definitely is a ball player,” Boland noted.

As for Trimarco, she will be able to assist the team in some clutch situations. “Lauren is a talented pitcher and can help us in several other spots,” said the Calhoun coach. “She is definitely one to watch for every time she comes to the plate.”

From captain to coach, the key word for this season’s Lady Colts softball squad is errors. Controlling them will help the team meet what Boland describes as their biggest challenge this year – “to take the next step that this program needs, and that is to compete for the playoffs. We have brought the culture of winning back,” he said. “This talented roster has the ability to do that.”

But win or lose, the Calhoun softball team is likely to prove to be fun to watch. “We are lucky to have a roster filled with quickness and aggressiveness,” said Boland.