The Amsterdam High School junior varsity softball team won both games of a doubleheader against the Mayfield High School junior varsity tean Thursday afternoon at Shuttleworth Park winning by scores of 19-10 and 10-3 to finish with a record of 11 wins and only 5 losses.
The young Lady Rams scored five runs in the first inning of game two getting hits from Katlyn Cwiakala, Nicole Derose, Kaylee Cappuccio, and Lilian Orengo to take an early lead. Amsterdam showed some power in the second inning courtesy of a three-run home run by freshman Mackenzie Farina putting AHS up 8-0 after only two innings. Taylor Ainsworth and Kelsey Bogdan each scored a run in the middle innings helping AHS stay in front, and that was more than enough for Lady Rams hurler Sydney Szczepanik, who earned the win in the circle for Amsterdam.
Not even a freshman, Szczepanik, a seventh grader, pitched all five innings of game two, scattered five hits, struck out five and walked none. Overall in both games, Szczepanik pitched a total of seven innings with eight strikeouts.
“She’s probably one of the better pitchers I’ve seen come through this program,” Amsterdam coach Colleen Resila said. “Especially at a young age.”
According to Resila, the youngest member of the junior varsity team already has command of four pitches and is perfecting her game.
“She had a game where she struck out 13 batters and made three put outs,” Coach Resila said.
That game was against the Scotia-Glenville junior varsity, one of the top teams in the Foothills Council. Amsterdam made a late rally, but lost 2-1.
“We should be be 13 and 2,” Coach Resila said. “We lost three games by one run. We made some costly errors at the end of each of those games.”
Highlighting the JV Lady Rams season were one-run wins over Scotia-Glenville in the first game of the 2016 schedule, and a comeback win over Hudson Falls. Amsterdam finished with seven wins in the Foothills Council against only four losses. The Lady Rams also won the 2016 Ron Papierniak Memorial Softball Tournament in Fonda on April 30 defeating Johnstown and Fonda-Fultonville, outscoring their opponents 34-3. Ayana Cintron was named the best offensive player of the junior varsity tournament. The doubleheader sweep over Mayfield capped off a winning season.
“This is a young team,” Coach Resila said. “There are five sophomores and one seventh grader, the rest are all freshman.”
The 2016 Amsterdam Lady Rams junior varsity softball team includes sophomores Taylor Ainsworth, Kelsey Bogdan, Kaylee Cappuccio, Madison Lanza, and Karly Power, seventh grade, Sydney Szczepanik, and freshmen Mady Carmona, Ayana Cintron, Katyln Cwiakala, Nicole Derose, Mackenzie Farina, Bailey Isolda, Lilian Orengo, and Bella Porter.
Lanza and Power helped the AHS varsity during the season when the team was shorthanded. Also, freshman Megan Lamont began the year on the junior varsity team, but made such a good impression when filling in at second base on the varsity team that she stayed with the older club for the last month of the season. Resila said goodbye to the five sophomores and said she expected to see them on varsity next year. She also said that there is another good group coming up from the modified level.
“This team is a great bunch of kids,” Coach Resila said of the junior varsity team. “At times they need to take the game more seriously, because on the field they really work hard.”
In the first game, the Lady Rams junior varsity pounded out 17 hits including three singles and a double by Farina, and three singles by Ainsworth. Carmona had two singles and scored two runs, Szczepanik smacked a double and a single and scored two runs, Power connected for a double and a single and scored three runs, Cintron and Porter singled and scored twice, Derose and Cwiakala each had a single and scored one run.
Bogdan had two singles in the second game. Power, Szczepanik, Porter and Carmona singled in the winning effort.
Amsterdam varsity softball finishes league season on winning note
The Amsterdam Lady Rams varsity softball team saved its best for last scoring a season high in runs for a 14-2 triumph over the Johnstown Lady Bills at Johnstown High School. AHS pounded out 12 hits to back a complete game five hitter from pitcher Michaela Rust, who struck out seven Lady Bills batters.
Megan Lamont connected for three singles with two runs scored, and an RBI. Rust and Morgan Durinick each had two hits and drove in three runs. Durnick’s triple was the only extra base hit for the Lady Rams, who picked up their third win in the Foothills Council.
Michaela Kelly had a pair of singles and two RBI’s. Alyssa McNulty also singled twice and scored two runs. Martina Hughes chipped in with and RBI single, and Lucy Giglio had one RBI.
Highlights of the Lady Rams season included a 7-3 win over Western Athletic Conference champion Mayfield in the second game of a doubleheader played at Shuttleworth Park back on April 18, and a win over Canajoharie in the Ron Paperniak Memorial Softball Tournament in Fonda. The Lady Rams rallied late against the host Lady Braves in the championship game before falling 4-3.
The 2016 Amsterdam Lady Rams varsity roster includes Braelin Aldi, Emily Brodie, Kayleigh Carrero, Morgan Durinick, Ericha Engle, Lucy Giglio, Martina Hughes, Michaela Kelly, Katarina Keyser, Alyssa McNulty, Jenelle Pabis, Emma Patrei, Gianna Quatrini, Michaela Rust, Megan Lamont, and Lyndsey Yager.
