The Greenwich High School softball team will be combining a bunch of fresh faces with some talented returning athletes in its starting lineup, and head coach Mary Beth Fratello is hoping that mix will equal a deep playoff run this season.
Last season Big Red finished with a 9-11 regular season record and missed out on an FCIAC tournament berth. Greenwich took home the No. 26 seed in the CIAC class LL tournament and fell to Norwich Free Academy in the opening round.
While the Lady Cardinals lost a few athletes to graduation, Fratello still has high expectations for this year’s younger squad.
“We have a couple of returning players, but there are going to be a lot of young kids this year. It’s a nice mix. We definitely want to get back to FCIACs. We’ve been qualifying for states the last couple of years and definitely want to get back to States.”
For Big Red, it’s going to be all about defense if the team wants to play in the postseason this year.
“Defense is really important for us,” Fratello said. “We’re going to have to play a lot of good, quality defense. We have a freshman pitcher and she’s not going to have too much speed, but she will put the ball in play and we have to make the plays.”
Helping Greenwich High march towards the playoffs will be senior captains Cate Decker, Alexa Guerrieri, Dominique Gambino and Sami Scordo.
“It’s great to be a leader here,” Decker said. “I’ve with the varsity program for three years, so going into this I know what’s expected and what is needed for this program. It’s going to be a great season, especially with the young players as well as the newcomers. I love it on here.”
“We definitely want to get into states and FCIACS,” Scordo said. “We didn’t make FCIACs last year and that’s one of our goals. We also want to improve on the stuff that we did last year and get better after each and every game. It’s a lot of fun on this team. There’s a bunch of us that have been playing together since we were 10, so we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.”
On the mound this year will be a new face to the program, as freshman Sophia Prieto will be the team’s ace this season. Backing up Prieto will be Julie Gambino.
“There’s going to be a lot of pressure on her as a freshman,” Fratello said. “She’s going to be starting almost every game. She has her fastball, screw ball and a drop ball. She can’t be nervous and is going to have to grow up really quick.”
Helping Prieto will be a familiar face to the program as Decker returns to the catcher position at GHS.
“As a catcher, it’s a huge commitment,” Decker said. “This past winter I was working with her and making sure that she knows the varsity level. I let her know that she’s a varsity pitcher and she’s not going to strike out every player. But being a three-year varsity player, I know how intense varsity is and I know what she should expect.”
For Fratello, having Decker as Prieto’s battery mate is a perfect fit.
“It’s huge for us to have Cate back there,” Fratello said. “She’s been working with Sophia since the summertime and works with her during every drill we do. Cate’s doing a lot to make things as easy as possible for Sophia. In addition, Cate’s offense and hitting are big and her ability to block the ball on defense is good. She does a good job calling the pitches.”
Joining Prieto and Decker will be a plethora of talented athletes. Julia Greco will be playing the hot corner, while Emma Beinstein will occupy the shortstop slot. Dominique Gambino, who had a shoulder injury last year, will be back this year at second base.
“It’s been a goal of mine coming into the program as a freshman to be a leader on this team,” Gambino said. “To finally achieve it is wonderful, because it shows that all my hard work is paying off. I love teaching other kids how to play and love seeing the improvement. I would love to get into FCIACs and states, but it’s also very important for us to improve as players as well, regardless of where we go.”
Rounding out the infield will be Alexa Guerrieri at first base.
“Being a leader here has special meaning because of how hard we all worked to get where we are today,” Guerrieri said. “It’s been a goal of mine to be a captain here and it’s an honor to me. I think we take it game-by-game here. We need to improve after each practice and after each game goes by. That will help us with our ultimate goal of getting to FCIACs and going to states.”
While things aren’t set in stone in the outfield, Katelyn Grimes is scheduled to be in left field, with Scordo playing center. In right field this season will be Katelyn Burhans in right.
“I’ve had three years of experience in the varsity program, so I know what’s expected coming into this season,” Scordo said. “This is a really young team and having a bunch coming back with varsity experience is nice. We are all working together as a family and it’s great to see.”
With her defense, Fratello said that they need to be mistake-free this season. That’s one of the goals at GHS.
“We have very small room for errors,” Fratello said. “Sophia will throw the pitches and get the pop-up and ground ball, but we have to make the plays behind her.”
With players like Decker, Greco and Dominique Gambino all returning, the GHS offense will be strong once again. However don’t expect Big Red to have balls flying over the outfield fence all the time.
“Offensively we are really strong and I think that will last throughout the year,” Fratello said. “We have some power this year, but we are going to be more of a small ball team. We’re going to steal, bunt and take it one base at a time. We don’t have the power hitters like we had in the past.”
