Softball: Seniors Lead Bears

's softball squad has six solid seniors on this year’s team, who are complemented by six other players who are young, but talented.

Those six seniors are pitcher Juliette Lynch, center fielder Abigail Collen, left fielder Shannon Louie, second baseman Jill Kaltner, right fielder Melissa Pasternak and catcher Sara Pohar.

That group will be needed to help navigate the Bears (2-3) through what will be a key stretch in their schedule according to their coach Paul Zeidan. That stretch beings at today in a matchup at Westlake.

“We will be playing the stronger schools over the next six games, they will be pretty tough,” Zeidan said. “I will really be able to judge better how we are doing over those six games.”

Sharing the captainship for the Bears this season are Louie, Collen and Kaltner. They are a trio that Zeidan has confidence in because they are a group of players that the younger girls on the Bears can look up to.

“Shannon, Abigail and Jill are my captains and they do provide good leadership,” Zeidan said. “They are great with the younger girls in bringing them along.”

Hitting wise, the co-captains each enjoy a .438 batting average. Zeidan feels that a big part of their success is that they are able to take advantage of the fact that they hit early in the Bears' lineup.

“Shannon is the lead-off hitter, Abigail is the three-spot and Jill is usually in the five or six spot,” Zeidan said.

As for an underclassman to look out for on the Bears, that would be sophomore first baseman Summer Horowitz, who is batting at a .375 clip, along with Pasternak. Horowitz, who started at third base last year as a freshman, has a future that looks crystal bright.

“[Horowitz] puts a lot of time playing on a travel team,” Zeidan said. “She has great fundamentals. She has a great feel for the game. She has a great swing and her defense is very solid.”

The travel team Horowitz plays for is The Junction Girls out of Eastchester. Its coaches are Jim Bell, whose daughter Bonnie Bell (Eastchester '90) will be inducted next year into the New York State Softball Hall of Fame and Mike Mitchell, whose daughter Brittany Mitchell is a star shortstop for Ursuline. 

Many of Section 1's best players play for The Junction Girls, including Jamie Weisser (Horace Greeley), Andrea Abbetiello and Bronwyn Bingham (Dobbs Ferry), Kelly Dillon (New Rochelle), Essence Savignon (Our Lady of Victory), Casey Stevko (Tuckahoe), Jackie Inglesias (White Plains) and Christie and Allison Lombardi (Fox Lane).

With young rising stars like Horowitz and a core of solid seniors, the Bears coach is confident that the team will gradually get better as the season goes on.

“I feel good about this team,” Zeidan said. “I expect to make the playoffs as we did last year and expect to go as far as we can take it."

Juniors Carly Gillet and Nina Delassandro, sophomore Jaime Weinrach and freshmen Molly Charney and Stephanie Murdoh also will be key players in the Bears quest for a berth in the sectionals.