The Lady Comets junior went 8 for 9 with four home runs, three doubles, 10 RBIs and seven runs in three victories. She went 4 for 5 with two home runs, a double, five RBIs and three runs in Abington Heights’ 14-4 victory over North Pocono in a game between two undefeated teams in league play. She had a home run, two doubles, two RBIs and two runs to lead the Lady Comets to a 14-0 win in five innings over Delaware Valley. She added a home run, three RBIs and two runs in a 15-0 three-inning victory over Scranton.
Family: Dad, Brian; mom, Julie; brother, Zach.
Coach: John Kelly
You’re hitting .700 this season. What is the key to your approach at the plate?: I think right now my biggest focus is pitch selection. I’m waiting for the perfect pitch that I know that I can drive. Unless I get two strikes on me, and then at that point it’s just taking a strike wherever I can get it. But I think pitch selection is definitely my biggest focus, like taking an outside pitch to the left side, taking an inside pitch to the right side. Wherever I’m given the pitch is where I take it.
What did you work on in the offseason in preparation for this season?: I think, again, with taking the pitches where I get them because last year I know a lot of the times I would get thrown outside a lot and I would try to take it to the right side, which obviously wouldn’t work out very well. So, I think definitely just trying to take the outside pitches to the left side definitely was my biggest improvement.
The team is 10-1 overall and 7-0 in Lackawanna League Division I. What do you think of the performance so far this season?: This season we’ve been doing really well as a team. Our chemistry has been very good so far. I think knowing that we not only lost a lot of great players, but also great leaders last year, we knew that a lot of us were going to have to step up in multiple aspects and I think we definitely achieved that goal. Our team chemistry has just been so great lately.
How important was that win over North Pocono?: That win was really huge for us because that shows us how much we improved since last season. Obviously, they beat us in the district championship last year. So, I think we went into that game knowing we needed a little bit of revenge after that game, and I think that really showed us where we stand compared to our team last year.
What is the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team?: I think last year we knew we had a lot of solid players, so we kind of let all the upperclassmen work their magic. But now, I think this year we realized we were all going to need to step up and play a role in every single game in every way we can. So, I think we all realized we needed to start hitting not only individually, but as a team together, like hitting each other in and putting each other in the right position to score. I think that was definitely a focus this year.
Adrianna Condrad is also having a great season, and you provide a solid 1-2 punch in the lineup. What is it like having her hitting in front of you?: In the beginning of the season, she was always behind me, so I think knowing that she was behind me and she had my back even if I couldn’t perform was a big motivation factor. Now, knowing she’s in front of me, I know that I have to do something to help her after she gets a big hit. I know it’s my job to hit her in, and just knowing that she’s there for me when I’m hitting is a great factor for motivation.
You seem to be comfortable in clutch situations, as you showed with a walk-off RBI double in the eighth inning against Freedom. How do you feel in those situations?: I think especially knowing that there was only one out gave me a little comfort when I was stepping into the box because I knew even if I couldn’t do something, I have a lot of great girls in the lineup behind me that could do something. So, I think that gave me a little bit of room for error, but I just knew that I had to do something productive, whether it was just a base hit or anything to the outfield would have been my RBI. So, I think I just did what I knew I could do.
How do those nonleague games help your team?: We like to play as hard of a preseason schedule as we can just so we know where we stand compared to teams that are outside of our league and outside of our district. I think it also helps us show what we need to work on not only as a team but individually. That Freedom game, Emmaus was a good one and Loyalsock was a good one because it showed us just where as a team we needed to improve and also individually.
Other sport you play: Basketball.
Athlete you admire: Aaron Judge has always been one of my biggest role models. I always enjoyed the fact that he’s both an outfielder and he’s a power hitter. Usually outfielders are just for contact and getting on base, but I liked that he was a power hitter.
Do you have an superstitions?: Before every game, I eat an acai bowl at my house for breakfast.
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite teams: New York Yankees and Golden State Warriors.
Favorite movie: “The Sandlot”
Favorite TV show: “The Pitt”
Favorite musical artist: Sabrina Carpenter.
Three people you’d like to have dinner with: Aaron Judge, Adam Sandler, Sabrina Carpenter.
Do you have plans for after high school?: I plan on playing softball. I’m not really positive where yet, but I have been emailing a couple schools.