Steinert softball still among elite even without season
One of the great recent success stories in New Jersey scholastic softball pertained to what the Steinert High team was able to accomplish.
With that in mind, when it was officially announced the season was canceled last week one of the biggest local casualties was the chance for this year’s Steinert players to add yet another chapter to that legacy.
Consider over the last five seasons Steinert had compiled a gaudy record of 123-22. During that span, it reached the Central Jersey Group III championship game all five times.
Consider Steinert advanced to the Group III state final three straight times from 2016 through 2018 and won state titles in 2016 and 2018. (It was nearly three straight state championships with the 2017 state final loss behind a one-run heartbreaker in the bottom of the seventh inning).
Consider the 2018 team also struck the biggest jackpot of all by stunning the “experts” and capturing the Tournament of Champions to finish atop the entire New Jersey softball world.
Although Steinert did not win Central Jersey in 2015 and 2019, in both cases it lost in the sectional final to teams (first Middletown South and then Middletown North) that used their victories over the Spartans to propel themselves to state titles.
In short, what Steinert had been able to put on its resume is about as good as it gets and this year’s team certainly had the potential to again be a major player.
“We’re trying to keep their spirits up, but the players really were anticipating this season,” said Jen Melker, who became the head coach last season after the highlysuccessful Jeannie Ruppert retired. “We really thought this was going to be a big year for us.”
Although Steinert lost the player that matters most in four-year varsity pitcher Kaylee Whittaker as well as another All-Colonial Valley
Conference player in second baseman Nicole Cerasi, the team did welcome back a solid returning cast after going 26-3 last spring.
What’s more and a good sign for next year, it was still on the relatively young side with just three senior starters.
One of them is Alex Haley, who projected as easily one of the top players in the county. A superior defensive catcher, Haley is an excellent hitter who batted over .500 last year.
She also had 11 extra base hits, four of which were home runs, and had the team’s second most RBIs with 25. Haley will play next year at Susquehanna University.
“Alex was all set for an outstanding season,” said Melker. “She’s a team leader and a great all-around athlete.”
Other seniors who figured to start were infielder Grace Gaskill and Heather Kerlin. Gaskill had a solid 28 hits last year and is going to William Patterson University. Kerlin hit well over .300 and is slated to play next at Mercer County Community College.
Another huge part of Steinert’s offense was going to be junior Bella Truelove. After first making her mark with a huge home run in the 2018 Tournament of Champions, Truelove took the county by storm last year by pounding out 12 home runs, 36 hits and a staggering 51 RBIs.
Some of Truelove’s home runs were mammoth shots that had to be seen to be appreciated. In a game at Robbinsville, she blasted a shot that was still rising when it soared over the right-field fence.
Although it’s impossible to completely replace Whittaker, Steinert’s pitching was also going to a strength. The No. 1 was to have been senior Delaney Misier, who showed she has plenty of gas by striking out 104 batters in 68 innings last year while yielding just eight runs. Misier will play softball next year at Alvernia University.
As usual, Steinert was also not lacking for pitching depth. Junior Johnna Filliponi showed promise in limited action last year and three freshman pitchers in Isabella Bonacci, Abigail Mazur and Paige Schultz were all listed on this year’s varsity roster.
Other members of this year’s team included sophomore outfielder Jayci Conover, junior outfielder Gianna Casale, and junior infielders Julia Hannawacker, Haley Nardone and Kelsey Smith.
Seniors infielder GraceAnnne Gaskill, and senior outfielders Amanda Marks and Natalie Kozemchak were to have rounded out the team.
In short, it was going to be pretty much business as usual for a Steinert team that would have remained among the elite in the area, a strong candidate to repeat as a Mercer County Tournament champion and a force come state tournament time.