Coming off of a phenomenal 24-5 season—during which the Mounties’ Varsity Softball Team set a new school record for wins, including a Super Essex Liberty Conference Title—the team's goals remain the same going into the 2011 season.
“We expect to work hard and put ourselves in a position to win every game we play,” said Head Coach Tara Delmour. “We feel we can be competitive with every team on our schedule with the goal of advancing deep into the Essex County Tournament and The NJSIAA State Tournament.
“[Last season’s] team set the bar real high for the 2011 team, and our group of seniors have set the tone for another highly competitive season,” said Delmour.
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The Mounties will be led this season by returning seniors Sara Haefeli, Amy Bianco, Dakota Sikes-Keilp, Giuliana Freda, and Laura Haefeli, alongside standout junior Tory Sneden.
The Mounties maintain a cohesive veteran infield with all seniors at the bases. Bianco starts at catcher, while Freda plays second base, and the pairing of Sikes-Keilp and Haefeli cover the corners of 3rd and 1st base respectively.
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“They know the success we had last year and want to continue to build off of that during their final year in the program,” said Delmour. “They want to leave behind a legacy of winning, a legacy that will continue the future of the Montclair High School Softball program."
While the upperclassmen play a major roll in the success of the team, a number of sophomores are expected to make an impact for the Mounties.
“We have a group of skilled underclassmen who are on the team this year who are very talented and exciting players,” said Delmour. Caroline Kohl, Charlotte Skutch, and Fabiana Citro will see action in the outfield for the Mounties. Deja Davis and Hanna Schlager will provide infield depth at shortstop and 1st base. Rounding out the list of talented underclassmen is Carly Goldstein, who will join junior Tory Sneden at the top of the Mounties pitching rotation.
The Mounties are aware that every team is gunning for them and their Conference Championship. The Mounties will play a number of difficult opponents in and out of conference including Immaculate Heart Academy, Sparta, Edison, Belleville, and North Bergen. “The Super Essex Conference is one of the toughest leagues in the state and our independent schedule doesn’t give us any breaks at all,” said Delmour.
The Mounties open their season on Saturday with a matchup against perennial powerhouse Immaculate Heart Academy as they try to continue where they left off last season.
“The team has been working hard during off-season workouts and has been putting in a lot of time during pre-season in both practices and scrimmages,” said Delmour. “The girls definitely came into this spring very prepared and are ready for the opening of our season on Saturday."
