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Preview
Lady Clippers
look to be
competitive
PUTNAM --- Second-year coach Stephen Smith said he believes this should be a good year for the Putnam Lady Clippers. “We are looking forward to playing in the CSC this year and being competitive.”
Coach Smith will be assisted this year by Richard Konienczy. “Coach Rick has been great with the girls thus far.” Coach Rick coached a few years ago and has a wealth of knowledge that should come in handy with this year’s team. I am very excited about having an assistant coach this year as well as returning all my starters but one from last year’s team." He added, "We had only had 11 girls come out for the team last year. This year we have 17 girls. Things are looking up for our program."
The Lady Clippers will be led by captain senior pitcher Stephanie Baumuller who has been working on her pitching every Sunday since January at a pitching clinic in Southbridge. She has put in the extra work needed in the off season to become a very good pitcher, Smith said. Her velocity has improved from 45 MPH to 52 MPH. "We are hoping that her endurance holds up so she can continue pitching strong as we get into the later innings of the games."
Captain senior infielder Cori Sasinowski unfortunately will not be playing this year due to a medical condition. “We are very sad about losing Cori for the season," said Smith. He added she has been a leader on this team and will continue to remain a captain even though she will not be able to play.
The other captain, senior outfielder Dawn Cerasiello, is back for her second season. Smith said she should be a "huge asset" to the Lady Clippers' line-up. Junior catcher/infielder Holly Desrosiers, junior infielder Megan Heaney and sophomore infielder Kaylee Shippee, along with sophomores Jessica Phillips and Julie Therrien round out the Clippers infield.
"Our infield is very strong this year," said Smith. “I would put these girls up against any other infield in the whole CSC Division."
Sophomore pitcher/outfielder Taylor Trudeau and sophomore pitcher/infielder Erica Anderson who also went to the pitching clinic in Southbridge will round out the Lady Clippers pitching staff. Also returning from last year’s team is sophomore outfielder Nicole Gosslin.
Newcomers include senior Amanda Irwin, junior Elizabeth Paglione, sophomore Brandie Masztal, and freshmen Kristen Van Scoy, Caitlyn Verrette, and Tiffany LaFrance.
Smith said, "We are very excited for the season to begin. Our defense is strong and if our pitching can stay consistent, while scoring some runs we will do well this season."