LYNN — St. Mary’s softball coach Colleen Newbury helped lead last year’s team to a 14-8 record and Sweet 16 appearance. This season, the Spartans sport three seniors with the rest of the roster consisting of juniors, sophomores, freshmen, and middle schoolers.
The Spartans are still waiting for their first game after two were postponed due to weather conditions.
“We’re practicing at Gallagher (Park), so we have to go out. Practicing inside has its benefits and we’re probably one of the best indoor teams around,” Newbury said with a chuckle. “The biggest challenge is getting the new kids onboard with what you want the team to accomplish. When you’re inside, you’re just doing drills and can’t really set up a situation. You can’t set up a defense correctly. That’s part of the challenge.”
Each of the three seniors bring something different to the squad, according to Newbury.
“Cate Morgan will be our captain. She’s a great leader and someone I can trust,” Newbury said. “The other two seniors are Kylie Prezioso, who’s a great utility player — she can play anywhere on the field — and Sheila Pimentel is the other senior, who primarily plays first or third base.”
Although there isn’t much senior depth, the Spartans more than make up for it with youth.
“We have a lot of freshmen talent this year — more than probably any year I’ve ever coached. We have kids who could potentially play varsity at another place. We just don’t have room for them yet,” Newbury said. “It’s their year to learn and develop and understand the system. I want them to gain knowledge about the game and they’ll be fine. That’s another negative thing about being inside. You don’t know what position will be best for them at this time.”
Newbury returns key players such as Catholic Central League All-Star pitcher Aliza Crean-Oviedo, who is one of the older players on the team, despite being a junior.
“Lina (Owumi) is a freshman this year and played in center field last year and this year. She had a great year and had to play for Brooke Moloney last year after her injury. Jayla Walsh is another who played great last year at second and is only a sophomore,” Newbury said. “Olivia (DiSessa) is a sophomore who is another big player for us, as is Aliza Crean-Oviedo, who is a junior.”
Crean-Oviedo aside, Newbury is looking forward to seeing the team’s pitching depth.
“I think our biggest strength this year is our pitching. After Aliza, we have three other pitchers who are pretty good: Adyson Newhall, Catherine Newbury, and Chloe Mahoney. Mahoney is usually in left field, but she’s also a strong pitcher. We’re super fortunate. I’ve never had that much pitching before. Both Adyson and Catherine have also been hitting very well. It’s a great problem to have.”
And with good pitching, you need good catching.
“Milania Igoe filled in for Roma (Braid) when she got hurt last year. The other catcher we’ve been using is Maya Oliva, who is an eighth grader,” Newbury said. “Both are a little different in regard to their leadership roles behind the plate, but both do such a tremendous job at keeping the ball in front of them and managing the game, so that’s been really good.”
St. Mary’s first game is Wednesday against Arlington Catholic (1-0) at 4 p.m.
“There will be a little rust and communication issues. It’s going to happen and I told the kids they’re going to strike out and that’s OK, too. It’s the next person up,” Newbury said. “Usually, the younger the team, the lighter it is because they’re kind of goofy and silly. They still take it seriously, but they don’t hang on to it as much or think something is wrong. They just move on.”
