This time of the year is familiar to Bill Spanjer, Jr. Spanjer, who
coaches Chapel Field's softball team waits for the chill to give way
during Saturday morning practices and fingers and tendons to break from
their frigid resistance to open and free, to grip the bat and scoop up
the grounders from the cold, slick asphalt surface.
It is spring and it is new again, and Spanjer and the Lady Lions
are embarking on another championship this year. Chapel Field picked up
it's fifth state Class D championship this decade last June in
Binghamton and is a perennial opponent in the big game.
The 2007 team, young and have never been to the game, won on the
arm of Alyssa Brognano, a sophomore who pitched every inning and
recorded both a perfect game and a no-hitter. And so much was
accomplished without anyone every reaching that point before. Chapel Field won in 2000 and took three straight 2003-2005 before
losing in the state semifinal in 2006. And now Spanjer will see how the
team will try and keep their crown.
"This year there's a different worry. Are they still hungry?", he
said, as the team warmed up under the freezing line. "Playing at the
top is different than getting to the top. Are they going to stay hungry
and do what it needs to stay there?"
The entire team is back and older with a healthy addition, Grace
Hodges, a sophomore in the field. Lyndi Feilitz, a junior, will play in
center, and Patricia Dunne, a senior, will complete the outfield right.
Brianna Sofia, a sophomore, will play third, Victoria Billman, a
senior, will play shortstop next to Michelle Larson, a freshman will
play second and they'll all throw to Kiersten Kuperus at first. Jackie
Roebuck, considered by Spanjer to be one of the best in the state, will
direct the defense from behind the plate.
Last year's team did not win on sheer youth and talent. They were
still young and played without Hodges without a taste of where they
were headed.
"It was game by game. They played every game. We didn't look to
the end. We always looked to the next game, and played for that. That's
what these girls have to do," said Spanjer. "To battle through those
hurdles and win that sticks with you for a long time."
"We are alot more prepared this year" said Kuperus. "we can pick
up where we did last year" And Roebuck feels the same as long as the
team continues to work hard together. "If we do that we'll be alright"
she said.
If Brognano haunted opponents last year with her zip and accuracy,
then the Lady Lions this year may feel the same fear from Livingston
Manor's Marissa Diescher. "(Diescher) will be the challenge this year"
said Spanjer.
Bond Brundgard, Wallkill Valley Times March 26, 2008
