[ back ]
Veteran infield to lead Lady Lancers
(by Tony Lange - April 05, 2012)
Veteran infield to lead Lady Lancers
By TONY LANGE
Graduations, injuries and non-returners haunted the Gilmour Academy softball team this past off-season, but a veteran infield and a few surprises sparked some promise.
Leading the Lady Lancers this season will be senior infielders Marissa Cangelosi, Rachel Staton and Calla Telzrow, head coach Jim Galloway said.
“The thing I like about those three is they’ll take care of stuff. We give all three of them a lot of responsibility,” he said. “If there’s a problem on the field or off the field, we encourage players to go to the captains first and kind of take care of things in house.”
Cangelosi returns at third base this season and has verbally committed to play at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia next year.
After playing second base last season, Staton will move to first this year to fill the gap left by 2011 graduate Hannah Newcomb. “We need someone with for-sure hands at first, and that will be Rachel for us,” Galloway said.
Telzrow will continue her role at shortstop.
While junior Payton Wright used to be the Lady Lancers’ No. 1 pitcher, she has had some back troubles and therefore will play mostly second base this season, Galloway said.
“She’ll pitch, but her back is going to constitute how much,” he said. “We’ll be utilizing some of our younger talent to take on the No. 1 and No. 2 pitching roles this year.”
The Lady Lancers are returning from an 8-5 season when they played just 10 regular-season games due to a wet and dreary spring last year.
After their first couple games, Galloway said, he pulled up then-freshman Patricia Colella from the junior varsity to the varsity team to pitch last season.
“Last year, in all honesty, we were in a situation where we were desperate for pitching, so we pulled her up from JV,” Galloway said. “She’s a sophomore now and will be our No. 1 pitcher. She’s had a killer spring. Her hitting had come along, and I’m telling you, this year she’s hitting the cover off the ball. So, when she’s not pitching, she’ll play outfield.”
The other two-thirds of the outfield was expected to be covered by returning freshmen starters Kelsey Dugger and Kelly Harrington from last season, but Dugger tore her anterior cruciate ligament and will be sidelined until August, while Harrington is concentrating on her No.1 sport — soccer.
“Those were two of our best fielders and two of our best hitters,” Galloway said. “So I was nervous coming into this preseason, but we’ve had a couple of scrimmages, and I have some kids who I had no idea would be able to come in and fill these spots. So I felt my head was going to explode in February, but I’m feeling pretty good now.”
Taking on outfielder roles this season will be sophomores Regan O’Brian and Laurel Brown, Galloway said.
“Regan is going to be a mind blower for us this season,” he said. “She is a boarding student from Boston, and we pushed her into a starter at center field because of her speed. I mean the kid can fly. We’re going to slap her, we’ll bunt her, and I mean we’re going to put her at the top of the lineup and just let her go. So that’s going to be fun.”
Meanwhile, sophomore Madeline Tuohey is going to fulfill the starting catcher role this season after three of last year’s four graduates played that position.
Michaela Leach, also a sophomore, will play a utility-fielder role.
The only freshman on this year’s varsity roster is Hannah Finotti, who will play a regular role in the pitching rotation, Galloway said.
“Hannah plays travel ball, and, once I found out she was coming to Gilmour, I took a trip to Strongsville to see her play in a tournament,” he said. “We heard that she was a player, and she comes as advertised. She’ll pitch, and I can put her anywhere else in the field. We always have to have her in the lineup, because she’s got a nice stick.”
The Lady Lancers open their season at 4:30 p.m. April 9 at Kirtland.
[ back ]
