By Joseph Staszewski
Ann Marie Rich gets a reminder on a daily basis of just how competitive her league is this year.
Still, the St. Francis Prep coach and CHSAA Brooklyn/Queens divsion softball chairwoman continues to be amazed as teams vie for the top spots in a league that usually features a clear hierarchy.
“To be in charge and when I get the scores to be like, ‘What? Really?’ I have to look at it a second time like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” she said.
For nearly a decade St. Francis Prep and Archbishop Molloy have dominated the division. Either one or the other has won eight of the last nine diocesan crowns, until Fontbonne Hall took home the regular season and playoff titles last year.
You usually knew before the season started which teams were supposed to meet in the diocesan championship series, and predictions usually ended up being correct. The Bonnies were again supposed to be the CHSAA’s frontrunner, but have fallen on tough times in the last two weeks.
“There is really no distinguished team, no No. 1 team yet,” Archbishop Molloy right fielder Alyssa Klesin said. “I believe it’s us.”
You can make the case for the second-place Stanners, winners of four straight victories, including recent wins over Fontbonne (8-3) and St. Francis Prep (5-5). Molloy (5-3), though, has lost to both of those teams along with Mary Louis (5-5) this season. The Terriers appeared to be on the rise with a win over the Bonnies, before losing to Molloy 7–2 Monday.
Mary Louis and first-year Coach ToniAnne Campuzano have beaten Molloy, SFP and Fontbonne, but have also been defeated by last-place Christ the King.
“It is more open than for as long as I can remember,” Molloy Coach Maureen Rosenbaum said. “Fontbonne had a runaway lead in the beginning as defending champion, but it appears people are gaining on them.”
The parity should make for an interesting final weeks of the regular season, especially with Molloy headed to Fontbonne Hall Friday with first place on the line, and the Terriers need to beat TMLA on the road to remain in third.
There are reasons for the close play. There is a lack of consistent dominant pitching besides Fontbonne’s Nicolette Trapani. The Terriers are relying on sophomores Alysa Siess and Monica Zhivanaj, and Molloy junior Alex Yule is just beginning to come into her own.
Mary Louis has two seniors in Nicole Hubert and Angela Pfeffer, but plenty of inexperience behind them in the field.
It leaves the door open for inconsistency, uncertainty and likely plenty of drama to unfold.
“It’s anyone’s game on any given day, it seems to be,” Rich said.
It’s a welcome change.
