As part of an offseason series, the Athol Daily News will review each varsity spring sports team and its 2018 season. In the fourth installment, the Athol Daily News reviews the Mahar softball program.
ORANGE — The 2018 Mahar varsity softball team had something different this season. An infectious combination of camaraderie, enjoyment toward the game of softball and fellowship propelled the team to an 8-12 record, the most wins the Senators have had in the past 10 years.
The team graduate only one in role player Kayla Baker-LaFrennie. That means the glut of talent on the Senators’ roster remains intact. The heart of the team’s order in Sarah Graeff (.410/.486/.590) and Skylar Dodge (.538/.638/1.058) return for their senior and junior seasons respectively. Lani DeDiego, a hard out when she played (.531 on-base percentage), should return for her senior season at full capacity after spending her junior season in a dual-program at Mount Wachusett Community College. The Senators will have yet another full year of pitcher Megan Rich for her junior season as well. Don’t forget about Jordyn Berry either.
Not to overly laud this team, but 2019 should be the Senators’ year. The bulk of the program’s talent enters their senior season come 2019 and outside of Dodge, the rest of the junior class consists largely of players that produce in certain roles but won’t dominate on their own. They work hard and have had success at various points in their high school career, but — outside of Dodge — it’s hard to find a program-defining player.
With a team full of hard-working, role players with team chemistry like no other, the 2019 Senators must capitalize on the opportunity. If they want to make the playoffs, the Senators circle 2019. Circle it five times. Maybe 10 times. The talent and chemistry might not match up as nicely in the future.
Dodge was everything one would expect out of a premier western Massachusetts hitter this season. In her freshman season, Dodge hit to a slashline of .434/.531/.698 and improved — immensely — upon that this season in each category. Dodge also smacked seven home runs to go along with 29 RBIs and 18 runs. She struck out only six times during the entire season. If Dodge doesn’t decide to take an alternate route next year, expect bigger things come.
Rich is another player that progressed nicely in 2018. At the plate, she increased her batting average from .356 as a freshman to .362 as a sophomore. She also accounted for four doubles and one triple along with 18 runs and nine RBIs, an improvement in each category. Rich progressed on the mound as well, going from three wins to eight, 58 strikeouts to 110 and dropped her ERA from 11.04 to 8.08.
One should want to see more from Jordan Fournier and Juliana Herbert next season as well. Before Fournier’s season came to a premature end due to injury, she hit .231 with seven RBIs and five runs. Fournier has the ability to become a difficult out, but will have to command the batters box more in 2019 (Fournier struck out 14 times versus five walks in 2018), something she definitely has the ability to do. Herbert possesses a lot of raw power and potential. As an eighth-grader, she smacked two home runs with 14 RBIs and hit to a slashline of .268/.359/.411. Still young, it seemed as if her age caught up to her at times when committed many unforced errors. At her age, the Senators should be OK with that though. As she grows and gains experience, one can imagine the type of power she will bring to the Senators’ lineup.
The Senators have a window within the next two years where their talent at its highest peak. The team has several players moving into their senior season ready to provide enough output to win games. Several underclassmen, most notably soon-to-be junior class, surrounds them. Each of those players can play a role in next year’s squad. That makes 2019 critical if the Senators want to make the playoffs.
Facing some of the toughest competition in western Massachusetts out of the Franklin league, the Senators won’t have the easiest schedule, but that shouldn’t derail this team from accomplishing the task at hand.