Lakeland started off the season red hot, with an 8-3 mark. However, its inability to win close games down the stretch led to a 10-11 campaign, including a 1-0 loss as the 10th seed at No. 7 Tappan Zee in the opening round of the Section 1 Class A tournament.
"I thought that the girls gave everything they had, all season long," Lakeland coach Joe Chiara said. “One of the things we talked about was not being able to get key hits.
The team lost six one-run games, five in the second half of the season.
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"We just weren’t able to get that key hit to break open the game and get a lead for our pitchers, Katie Champagne and Marissa DeGaetano," the coach said.
While it was a season of ups and downs for Lakeland, Chiara could always count on Champagne, a four-year varsity player.
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“She did a real nice job keeping us in every game that she pitched,” Chiara said. “We trusted her with the ball with the senior leadership that she had. She has been very consistent; she has a variety of different pitches that she can throw.”
Senior all-league first baseman/outfielder Lindsay Dring provided consistently both on the field and at the plate.
“She was very steady defensively at first base and she also swings the bat extremely well,” Chiara said. “She was my leading hitter (.369). She had a great year.”
Junior all-league shortstop Shannon Scavelli was super defensively according to Chiara.
“She has very nice range in both directions,” Chiara said. “She also gave us a kick start as an offensive hitter. She has terrific speed, which is nice to be able to have that at the top of the lineup.”
