Cape softball heats up the dirt on Bill Cordrey Field
Experienced junior youth is one way to describe the Cape softball squad in 2024, as they send just four seniors, seven juniors, four sophomores and one freshman to the diamond this spring.
The Vikings graduated just one player, Sophia Tighe, from last year’s 12-7 team that made it to the DIAA second round.
Returning to the circle will be junior Abby Marsh, who pitched 18 of the 19 games in 2023, collecting 105 strikeouts in 97.1 innings en route to an 11-6 record and a 2.23 ERA. She helped herself at the plate too, slamming three home runs, six doubles and a triple. She was second on the team with 14 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
Junior Alivia Heers was hot at the plate in 2023, posting a .556 batting average while hitting five homers and driving in 26 runs. Junior Ava Calciano hit for a .408 average with 20 hits in 19 games. She also led the Vikings with 25 runs scored and 15 stolen bases.
Juniors Hayden Hudson and Bri Windish were also solid at the plate.
“We have a team full of experienced players which is awesome,” said junior third base Bri Windish. “The coaches have put a really challenging schedule together to prepare us, but we need to play one game at a time. We have all worked very hard to be able to compete at a high level and if we do our jobs and stay focused good things should happen.”
Rounding out the team are seniors Jay’lyn Slater, Kenna Justice, Natalya Roundtree and Reilly Fagles-Carey; juniors Milena Buehler and Eden Frederick; sophomores Olivia Brittingham, Mallory Kauffman, Alivia Longo and Madison Lubiniecki; and freshman Olivia Mekulski.
“To be honest, our expectations are high,” said second-year head coach Mike Tkach. “We’re still young, but we have a lot of varsity experience, and we’re not going to surprise anyone anymore, so we have to be ready to play every day.”
Tkach said the girls need to find ways to keep progressing and come together as a team. They also need to be unselfish by putting the team first, he said.
“I feel we need to try and come out of the gate strong,” he said. “We have the capability to be strong offensively by generating hits and running the bases well. We have some younger talent that are progressing and pushing players. The coaching staff is evaluating hard, and we are going to try and come up with the best combination of players.”
“With our returning varsity squad and our new additions, I have a great feeling about this year,” said junior pitcher Abby Marsh. “I feel confident and secure with the defense behind me and I know they will have my back along with the rest of the team. We have some great bats coming into the season and have put in the work so far to be well prepared for this season. We look forward to taking advantage of every offensive opportunity presented.”
That could involve moving players into different positions because it’s what’s best for the team, he said.
He’s confident the Vikings will have a solid season.
“We need to stay healthy, stay focused, and do our best every day at practice and games as well as catch a few breaks along the way,” he said. “I hope we can stir up some excitement for the program and that our community will come out and support our girls.”
The Vikings open their regular season Thursday, March 21 at Milford.
