The 2015 edition of the Caroline High School girls’ softball team ended up with a 7-11 record. However, the players and coaches drew together the talents of all the athletes to overcome a 0-8 start, posting a winning record in the second half of the season.
The Lady Cavs faced a particularly difficult schedule this year and were not helped by injuries to the starting pitchers.
Expectations were high for junior Summer Simulcik and freshman Haley Queen, but injuries sidelined their mound work for the season. The only senior on the team, Courtney Wright, was recruited to pitch, and, despite the fact that she had not pitched since the eighth grade, she did extremely well, being awarded five of the team’s seven victories.
A point of interest was that Wright had some misgivings about ascending to the Cavalier mound but worked on it with Coach Greg Trainum. In addition to her pitching prowess, Wright batted a healthy .280 with a .479 on-base percentage.
A number of Cavaliers did very well this season with junior Cassandra Cooper being named second team All Conference.
Allison Morrow received honorable mention, even though she had a stellar year behind the plate. She is on the way to outshining sister Abbie at Caroline High School. Allison was the leading batter for the Lady Cavs, with a .396 average and a .515 on-base percentage. She had two home runs, led the team in doubles and received the Defensive Award as catcher, allowing no pass-balls.
Summer Simulcik, who overcame injuries that knocked her out of a pitching position, filled in at several other slots.She received the Coach’s Award for her willingness to play wherever needed and to sit down and give younger players the chance to gain some playing time and experience.
When asked about a team MVP, Trainum said “I couldn’t pick one athlete on the team. Everyone played hard. This team did not implode when things were tough.”
Next season looks to be a senior-laden team. Returning seniors include Morrow, Simulcik, Bria Malloy, Kelsey Ambrose, Cassandra Cooper, April Berry and Zaria Haywood, all of whom look to bring a lot of good experience to the team in addition to providing an example to the younger players.
With only one senior graduating this year, Trainum mentioned that he hopes the intensity that marked this year’s team carries over.
Play by freshman Queen, number two in the offense, with a .346 batting average and .451 on-base percentage, sophomore Kayleigh Buchanan, and Cierra Cooper, who helped out with vacancies on the mound, make the future look bright for the Lady Cavaliers in 2016.