Moorestown Softball 'Striving to Make ... Next Step'

In the last few years, Moorestown softball has gone from being seen as an all-but-guaranteed victory for its opponents to a team on the verge of something special, according to head coach Bill Mulvihill.

“We’re no longer that team that other teams think, ‘Here comes Moorestown. Let’s put another “W” on the schedule,’” said the coach. “We’re a program that has been striving to make the next step.”

There are a number of factors that are key to breaking through, but above all, Mulvihill said it takes the right combination of players with the right amount of experience. Moorestown’s not known for its softball program, which has made it tricky to attract girls with the kind of experience the team needs to take that next step.

But Mulvihill credited the Moorestown Youth Softball Association (MYSA) for “doing a great job getting more and more girls involved every year.”

Last year’s team was still fairly young, finishing with a 7-12 record. Mulvihill said he’d lost starters at two key positions (first and third base) from the year before and was starting a freshman pitcher and a freshman catcher.

This year’s squad—though still made up of primarily sophomores and juniors—is more experienced, with eight returning letterwinners, including pitcher Audrey Weller and catcher Alexa Massa.

“There’s the potential they could be two of the best in the area this year,” said Mulvihill.

He’ll also look to shortstop Allison Francisco and outfielders Kristen Fetchko, Jess Carlino and Jackie D'Argenio to help lead the team.

“I really like this group of girls,” Mulvihill said of the team. “They’ve worked hard.”

Though the team was unable to reach a .500 record last season, they put a scare into one of the Liberty Division’s top dogs, Rancocas Valley, in a game that went all the way to the last inning.

“That was a moral victory for us, because we usually go there and get our butts kicked,” the coach said.

With any luck, this year those moral victories will become actual victories.

“If we get more consistent hitting and we can generate some runs on a more consistent basis, we can surprise some teams and have a pretty good year,” said the coach.

The girls open their season at 3:45 p.m. today against Holy Cross. They play Cinnaminson Tuesday afternoon and Haddonfield on Wednesday. For the team’s full schedule, visit www.highschoolsports.nj.com.