DelTech softball falls short of returning to national championship
Being a repeat champion in sports is never easy. Despite another phenomenal season, the Delaware Technical Community College Owens Campus Lady Roadrunners softball team found that out this year as their season came to an end with a stellar 24-4 record, but not a return trip to the NJCAA Division II National Championship.
Mercyhurst North East (Pennsylvania) proved to be a roadblock in the district tournament. The Lady Roadrunners beat Mercyhurst 8-0 in the first meeting between the two May 2, but they lost back-to-back games May 3 by scores of 3-2 and 3-1.
The Lady Roadrunners did capture the Region XIX title for the second year in a row. They did it by beating County College of Morris (New Jersey) 2-0 and Mercer County Community College (New Jersey) 7-1 April 25.
“We had a good season, but it’s never complete without going to the national championship,” head coach Wayne Price said. “But when you win the region you’ve done something.”
This year the Lady Roadrunners were led once again by sophomore pitcher Mykala Steele of Georgetown, who followed up her amazing 2014 pitching performance with another standout year. Steele went 17-3 in 133 innings of pitching, recording 157 strikeouts and posting an ERA of 1.16. She also helped offensively, batting .344 with 32 hits and 13 RBIs. All of those accomplishments earned Steele the honor of Region XIX Player of the Year, MVP of the Region XIX tournament, and First Team All-Region. She has a strong chance to be named All-American later this summer.
“She’s the real deal,” Price said. “She’s a pro and the best pitcher in the region. She dominated all the time.”
Joining Steele on the First Team All-Region team are: sophomore Lauren Illian of Millsboro, who led the team with 33 hits and had a .384 batting average; freshman Emily Pusey of Laurel, who had 32 hits, added 15 RBIs, and recorded a batting average of .421; and freshman Jodie Powell of Frankford, who had 24 hits, one home run, and a batting overage of .308.
Second Team All-Region players were freshman Kylie Melvin of Milford, who had 26 hits and batted .347; and sophomore Nicole Mendes of Camden, who had 23 hits, one home run, and batted .348.
The end of the season is bittersweet for Price, who is retiring as head coach of the Lady Roadrunners after five years as head coach and five years as assistant coach. He finishes with an overall record of 140-27 as head coach, leading the team to three appearances in the NJCAA Division II National Championship.
“I’m going to miss it. We had some good years over the last 10 years,” Price said. “We’ve got a lot of good talent around here, and a lot of good talent comes through here, and you can’t do anything as a coach without good talent.”
