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05/08/2016 12:00 AMIn each of the past few seasons, the Guilford softball team has stood on the threshold of making the State Tournament entering the final weeks. This season, the Indians feature a much-younger group than usual, but they pushed past any growing pains by solidifying a spot in states with a few games to spare.
Head Coach Steve Zajac’s squad won six games two years ago and then had a seven-win campaign in 2015, coming up just one victory shy of postseason play. Although the Indians got out to a rocky start in the current campaign by alternating wins and losses, they entered May with six victories under their belt thanks in large part to a group of underclass athletes who’ve stepped up to the plate both mentally and physically. Last week, Guilford defeated division rival Law 5-1 on May 2 before earning its state tourney berth with a 13-0 shutout of Hillhouse on May 5. The Indians improved to 8-6 on the season with those victories.
“After those last couple of years, the record we have right now is pretty nice. The last couple years, we just couldn’t get to eight wins for states, so to be in this position, it’s an exciting feeling,” said Coach Zajac. “We have a young group that is working hard. We play four freshmen, three sophomores, a junior, and a senior in our starting lineup. Having a young group, it leads to inconsistencies at times, but a big quality is that they have the ability to bounce back from a bad inning or game. They are a special group this year.”
Against Law, Guilford was led by sophomore pitcher and tri-captain Amanda King’s two-run home run in the third inning that gave the Indians a 3-0 advantage. Junior first baseman Lily Young, also a tri-captain, had an RBI double in the fifth before King scored on a wild pitch. Along with King and Young, Guilford’s captain’s chair is shared by lone senior and second baseman Ashley Ignatowski, who had .300 batting average with nine RBI entering the month. Young was hitting .400 with 10 RBI, while No. 3 hitter King sported a .512 batting average, led the team in extra-base hits with seven, and also had a team-best 12 RBI.
“Lily is a leader by example. She is working hard, becoming a real good defensive first baseman, and hitting the ball hard. Ashley has done a very good job of anchoring the infield, while being a quiet type of leader that has helped out the other girls,” Zajac said. “Amanda is more of a vocal person that will talk to the team during and after games. She is competitive and knows the game well.”
Getting the offense going at the top of the Indians’ order is freshman Ava Gladwin, who’s also been scorching hot at the dish to the tune of a .345 batting average, in addition to making opposing pitchers work as she leads the Indians in walks and holds the squad’s second-best on-base percentage.
“We have a great group of kids this year. They are young, but they are certainly not tentative and swinging the bat hard,” Zajac said. “Ava has been our leadoff hitter all year long and she just goes hard with everything and has a great drive to be the best she can be.”
Aside from the obvious objective of sealing a ticket to the playoff dance, the Indians also entered May aiming to string together some steady success as they didn’t win back-to-back games in April. Guilford took care of that last week with the Law and Hillhouse decisions and Coach Zajac feels confident that everything will continue coming together when Guilford looks to play spoiler to some heavy favorites in the Class L bracket.
“We’ve been looking to get back to states, but we also want to develop some consistency offensively and defensively. Yet the girls are putting the ball in play and are more aggressive on the bases,” Zajac said. “We had a great defensive pay that ended the West Haven game [a 5-0 win on April 29] with a throw from left field [by Gladwin] to our shortstop [sophomore Sara Barreira] to third base [freshman Jordyn Goldstein]. That was three people working together to get the job done. Overall, they are a fun group of girls that are fun to coach. We are looking to become better every day and learn from our mistakes. No matter what, we will be a tough out in states.”
From the Sidelines
Steve Zajac is in his 14th year as head coach of Guilford softball is assisted by varsity assistant coach Kristy Kehoss and JV coach Christa Parisi.
The Indians’ last State Tournament appearance had come in 2012. Since then, Guilford went 5-15 in 2013, 6-14 for 2014, and posted a 7-13 mark for 2015.
Prior to last week, Guilford’s victories came against Sacred Heart Academy (13-4 on April 9 and then 6-3 on April 18), Law (7-6 on April 13), Hillhouse (29-2 on April 20), Career (11-3 on April 25), and West Haven (5-0 on April 29).