This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
06/16/2023 07:19 AMThe North Haven softball team was undoubtedly the biggest story of the Southern Connecticut Conference in 2023, and within those pages for the Nighthawks was Jules Galasso, who covered a lot of ground in the outfield and brought the lumber when at the plate in the dirt.
The senior outfielder was selected to First Team All-SCC and to play in the Senior Select Game with a team-tops batting average of .444, hitting five doubles, two triples, and three homers while driving in a remarkable 31 runs with seven stolen bases in helping North Haven attain a perfect regular-season mark of 20-0 and reach the SCC Tournament finals.
“I love how softball is a solo sport, but keeping track of your own mentality and what you do can help the team,” says Jules. “This past year, I was having a better mentality heading into games. It also helped that I played with a great group of girls who all had a positive attitude. It all allowed me to have more fun with softball and play my game.”
Nighthawks’ softball co-Head Coach Vinny Cretella uses only the highest superlatives when it comes to describing Jules’ abilities and the campaign she put together as a senior.
“Jules is a phenomenal athlete,” says Cretella. “She truly had a phenomenal year for us.”
Cretella’s clubhouse cohort in North Haven softball co-Head Coach Sarah Lombardi expresses that Jules plays the game with pure and a palpable feeling of pleasure as she patrolled and platooned various points of the outfield this spring.
“Jules has been a vital asset to our team this season. She is a leader not only on the field but off it as well,” says Lombardi. “Jules has been the person that brings smiles to all. She is the type of player when you watch her play softball you can tell genuinely enjoys going out on the field and playing the game. She plays the game relaxed and has fun with it. This season, she bounced back and forth from right field to center field. Wherever she was put, she performed. Having her in the outfield has helped contribute to our stellar defense this season. She goes hard every play, never giving up. Her ability to be a well-rounded player helped our team go undefeated [for the regular season]. Jules is the most humble player [with] the way she carries herself during games, at practices, and with her teammates. Watching her play and being able to coach her has truly been an amazing experience.”
No matter her outfield designation, Jules notes that while she can be eager to cover a lot of ground, she enjoys making the chase when a line drive comes howling towards her direction and cultivating camaraderie with her fellow fielders.
“In the outfield, it can be tough trying to keep track of the space around my area in the field. It is also helpful to be able to rely on the fielders next to me and know they have my back,” Jules says. “I love getting to run, sprint, and chase down balls to the fence. I love playing in center field; I love taking charge and seeing the open grass and the space to cover. The pressure of playing there helps keep my head in the game.”
While sharpening her skills with the bat in the batter’s box, Jules explains that the base knocks piled up thanks in large part to her mentors taking a more hands-off approach in letting the Nighthawks do their thing.
“My hitting got a lot better this past season,” says Jules. “Our coaches were big on letting us do our own thing at the plate. I also connected with the ball more this year and track the ball. My speed also improved.”
Jules was one of three captains for the North Haven ball club this campaign, yet she was the lone one in her tier of territory on the turf–helping her and the girls cultivate a familial feel on the team that ignited an immaculate regular season.
“The other two captains were infielders, so I had to take charge of the outfield,” Jules says. “Coach Vinny showed me how to lead by example in the outfield. The coaches were a huge help this year; they made the team feel like a family and practices were more fun and did not feel like a chore. In the past, no one looked forward to practice, but this year, we did not want to leave them.”
In a sport where its competitors fail more often than succeed and that is based upon means and averages, Jules unearthed a crucial lesson about personal responsibility and focus. She discloses that even though COVID cut her softball career by a year, it was that layer of added adversity that made the squad that much stronger.
“Coach Vinny instilled that it is up to us what we do on the field. He taught us to not use excuses and focus on our own games,” says Jules. “I lost my freshman year due to the pandemic, and so my sophomore year was weird after that gap year. It was difficult for us, but we started to get things together my junior season. It all helped get the team a lot stronger.”