Carpenter Cup team announced, 2 coaching departures
For high school softball players, there is hardly an offseason.
Even before the PIAA championships are held at Penn State next week to complete the 2021 scholastic season, most area players have been participating for their travel teams for weeks.
They will be kept busy with those teams, in most cases, into the fall. Even when there is snow on the ground, teams are still getting together inside for workouts.
So, asking them to make another commitment is not an easy task.
But the girls who will be representing the Lehigh Valley in Philadelphia on June 21 during the 16th annual Carpenter Cup Softball tournament are willing to give up at least one, and possibly a couple of days to represent the local community in an event that brings together 16 regional all-star teams from throughout the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Lehigh Valley won the tournament twice, in 2006 and 2008, and finished in the top four several other times.
Whitehall coach Blake Morgan said putting a team together was more difficult than in the past because he didn’t get to talk to coaches after games due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Through several tryouts and a few phone calls, he has assembled a team he feels will be able to compete at FDR Park in south Philadelphia on June 21 when the Lehigh Valley will play three games starting at 8 a.m. against Burlington County, New Jersey. The other games are slated for 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. in round-robin play.
Unlike past years, which had a double-elimination format, each team is guaranteed three games.
The top two teams in each of the four divisions return on June 23 for the quarterfinals, semis, and championship. The title game is slated for 3 p.m.
“Absolutely, it’s more a challenge to put a team together than when I first started doing it,” Morgan said. “The kids are coming off their high school seasons and they’re playing tournament ball and many of the summer coaches don’t want their kids involved and discourage them from playing because they don’t want it to conflict with their practices. It’s during the week, so it doesn’t conflict with their games, but it is during their season and some coaches don’t want their kids involved.”
The players who do participate generally enjoy the experience and get to be seen by college coaches like Moravian’s John Byrne.
“It’s a college showcase and connections have been made,” Morgan said. “It’s not as huge of a showcase as some of the other tournaments, but college coaches are there.”
They also make friends with girls from other schools that they normally wouldn’t get to know, and those friendships tend to last longer much longer than memories of the results.
Morgan said the Lehigh Valley is well-respected by the Carpenter Cup organizers, and that respect extends beyond what happens on the filed.
“They tell us all the time that we handle ourselves the right way and that’s just the way we coach,” said Morgan, who is assisted by Ed and Kyle Stinner. “There’s a right way to play the game. We talk to the kids about that and remind them Lehigh Valley is on the front of their jerseys and Lehigh Valley is a great place for softball.
It’s an old-fashioned notion, but I just think it’s important for them to know to give back to the sport that has given so much to you.”
Here’s the Lehigh Valley roster: Player, School, 2021 grade, Position Devin Demchak. Northampton, Jr., 1B Shayla Morgan, Emmaus, So., OF
Julia Griffith, Freedom, So., P-1B
Lennon Dreisbach, Whitehall, Jr., P
Angela Fisher, Northampton, So., C Marissa Christman, Northwestern, So., 3B Taylor Kranzley, Northampton, Jr., 2B
Nora Zekkaria, Allen, So., OF
Mackenzie Laub, Whitehall, Jr., OF
Jessica Spanitz, Whitehall, So. SS
Julia Heineman, Freedom, So., IF_OF Natalie Stannard, Freedom, Jr., IF-OF Lauren Egan, CCHS, So., SS
Jennifer Milisits, CCHS, Jr., P
Rozalee Negron, Easton, So., C
Coaching departures
Emmaus High School has announced the resignation of Britt D’Agostino as head coach.
D’Agostino, who recently became a mother, coached the Green Hornets for four seasons (three that were actually played) and went 40-28. Emmaus was 12-10 in the just-completed season, losing to Whitehall in the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference quarterfinals and to Parkland in the District 11 Class 6A quarterfinals.
“Coach D’Agostino has been involved in the sport of softball for a solid number of years as both a local player and head coach,” Green Hornets athletic director Rebecca George said. “I would like to take this opportunity to thank her for all of her time, knowledge, and energy she has given to the Emmaus program for the past four years. She may find involvement with the sport in other ways in the near future and we wish her well.”
Prior to becoming the Emmaus head coach, D’Agostino was the pitching coach at Parkland for four years and was on the staff when the Trojans won the 2015 state championship behind two-time Morning Call Pitcher of the Year Aubree Fritzinger, who credited D’Agostino for playing a big role in her success.
D’Agostino, whose maiden name was Frederick, was an outstanding pitcher for Emmaus from 2004-2007, winning a District 11 title in 2007 while also serving as team captain as a junior and senior.
Salisbury High School has announced that Jeff Appleman won’t be back as head coach next season.
Appleman went 66-47 and guided the Falcons to two Colonial League finals (2017 and 2018) and one District 11 championship game in 2019.
With the exception of the COVID19 shortened season of 2020, Salisbury qualified for districts every season under Appleman.
“We thank Jeff for all he did with our program and we wish him the best in the future,” Salisbury athletic director Monica Deeb said in a release.
Among Appleman’s accomplishments was coaching four players who finished with more than 100 career hits — Anna Bishop, Lilia Crouthamel, Brooke Rogers and Peyton Stauffer. Crouthamel is currently a player at Penn State.
Salisbury will immediately begin the search for Appleman’s replacement. Interested candidates should email Deeb in the school’s athletic/activity department at mdeeb@salisburysd.org for more information.
Hall of Fame Night
The 20th annual Lehigh Valley Softball Hall of Fame ceremony, postponed by COVID-19 last year, is set for July 14 at Patriots Park.
This year’s inductees include former Freedom High coach and longtime player Denny Hollinger, former Central Catholic and Dieruff coach Bob Linn, former Northwestern Lehigh star player and coach Patty (Walko) Mengel, former Nazareth High School and Temple University slugger Adrienne (Repsher) Kashner and longtime Allentown Patriots board member Jim Adams, who was involved in youth softball for years and was the driving force behind the upgrades to the park and the building of the much-appreciated Patriots Park press box.
The ceremony will take place at approximately 7 p.m. between games of a doubleheader that will also feature the 23-and-under Allentown Patriettes.
For future softball nominations, send as much detailed information as possible to LV Softball Hall of Fame, P.O. Box 63, Emmaus PA 18049 or email committee member Charlotte Miller at miller.charlotte@yahoo.com.
Final All-Area alert
Last call for coaches to submit their nominations and thoughts on who should make The Morning Call’s 2021 all-area softball team. In addition to all-area selections, looking for candidates for coach, pitcher, offensive player, and rookie of the year. Send by Monday to the email address below.
Keith Groller can be reached at 610820-6740 or at kgroller@mcall.com
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