Young Valley Softball Came of Age with Shoreline, State Tourney Berths
Coming into the spring with one of the younger squads in a competitive Shoreline Conference with a new face at the helm, the Valley Regional softball team was not seen as one of the preseason favorites for a league title. Yet the Warriors showed their grit and determination and became one of the more competitive clubs.
With first-year Head Coach Olivia Whitehead, the Warriors amassed an 8-12 record for the regular season–earning themselves trips to both the Shoreline Conference and Class M State Tournaments. After a first-round 12-0 defeat to top-seeded and eventual winner North Branford in the conference draw, 31st-seeded Valley nearly pulled off an upset but fell short in the opening round with a 12-11 loss to No. 2 O’Brien Tech to finish 8-14 overall.
“As all teams do, we strive to have a season that helps us land a solid spot in the end-of-season playoffs. Being in one of the most competitive conferences in the state, we cannot just rely on winning and stats to get us there, we have to dig a little deeper,” said Whitehead. “We spent a lot of time talking about and developing our team philosophy early on in the season. The girls learned to embody our team philosophy and took pride in it, which was the foundation of our success. Our philosophy of togetherness is the reason why we did land a spot in both tournament brackets and allowed us to feel proud of the season we did have. We ended up qualifying for states and Shorelines due to their dedication to each other.”
Whitehead and the Warriors took a simplistic but quintessential approach to their crucial creed for the campaign. Valley only zoned in on what elements they could gain grasp of while knowing to lean on each other and come together when the chips were down and everything seemed to be going against the club.
“Part of our philosophy focused on what we can control: ourselves. We said before every inning to play clean, play smart, play together. If we can play together, we can do anything,” said Whitehead. “We play a team sport where individual success or challenges can become the forefront of the game. It’s easy to fall into the rabbit hole of focusing on those individual success or failures. That’s a rabbit hole we can’t afford to fall in. The girls put each other first and picked each other up when times were tough. They not only learned how to win as a team but how to lose as a team. We built a lot of grit and gametime stamina as we focused on doing it together. The girls were completely fearless walking into games and ready to take on their competition together. Fearless became our season mantra for that reason.”
Regardless of the game’s final result, the Warriors sent their fans home entertained with hard-fought contests and memorable moments–including five career first home runs hit in 2023. The thrills persisted throughout the regular season with one five-star matchup concluding with Valley punching its postseason ticket.
“One of our team goals was to walk away from each game feeling satisfied and for our fans to say, ‘Wow! that was a great game!’ win or lose,” said Whitehead. “We took some close tough losses but also took some great memorable wins. We took a walk-off win against East Hampton, 11-10, after losing to them at their field earlier in the season. We took another fantastic win against Hale-Ray, 12-5, after losing to them three days prior in extra innings. This win secured us a spot in the state tournament. We ended our season losing 12-11 to the No. 2 seed in the state for Class M. We may have taken a loss, but it was a game that the girls went into completely fearless and united. You would have thought they’ve played together for years with the way they performed. [Assistant Coach] Julie Labbadia and I are extremely proud of the way they ended their season; all their hard work and dedication to each other paid off.”
In building this group largely from the ground up, the Warriors internally developed great connections and forged friendships that stretch beyond the field–paving the way for profound confidence in both their individual abilities as players and as an entire entity.
“We started this season starting from scratch with only two returning varsity players. We spent a lot of time building a lineup that best used the strengths of each player. All 15 of our girls contributed to each success we had this season and that’s something we take great pride in,” Whitehead said. “The trust and bond these girls had shined on game days, and it allowed them to walk into each game completely fearless and proud of who they were. It is part of our team philosophy that win or lose, we do it together. By the end of the season, you could see how much they believed and supported each other. We went from being a brand new group of athletes to being a team who was united and fearless. Off the field, the girls became more than just teammates, but many new friendships were developed. Our upperclassmen did a fantastic job welcoming our new freshmen to our team and making them feel at home.”
For the club, it smacked eight homers, 37 doubles, and seven triples. The Warriors had a total on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS) of .414 and slugging percentage in .447. Valley took away 45 stolen bases. Individually, senior co-captain Anna Benson led the team with a batting average of .604 this spring and attained 65 career hits in two years.
Benson was named Team MVP as she was also bestowed with the recognition of Second Team All-Shoreline, while her junior co-captain Riley Soares (who also earned the squad’s Golden Glove Award) was Honorable Mention for the all-conference club. Junior Taylor Rae was the Most Improved Player, and freshman Kellen Kolber was named Rookie of the Year with junior Raegan Wyrebrek-Brasky taking home the Warrior Award for sportsmanship and hustle.
“The everyday impact Anna had on our team is going to be difficult to replace. She was a leader they all looked up to, but she was also a supportive and caring friend to each and every one of them,” said Whitehead. “From the way she played, to the way she presents herself, and the continuous support she had for her teammates, she has set a high expectation for the responsibilities our future captains and senior class will carry on to our new leaders for years to come. Anna’s co-captain, Riley Soares, will return as a senior next year and is ready to take on Anna’s leadership legacy in addition to her own. Anna will be missed very much, but the girls are ready to channel their inner Anna for the next season.”
Despite the big departure of Benson, the Warriors are ready to move forward after having several underclassmen upstarts groom themselves towards bigger levels of prominence after garnering and illuminating under the varsity spotlight in 2023.
“Although we are losing our leading light and Team MVP, we have the rest of our team returning next year,” said Whitehead. “We have a great foundation going into the next season, and we have some exciting changes coming to our starting lineup, including Kellyn taking over the mound. Our team is ready to take it to the next level with having such a strong returning roster. We are excited to continue our fearless journey next season.”
The 2023 Valley Regional softball team roster was comprised of senior Benson; juniors of Mulanga Kazadi Drysile, Katie Schaefer, Soares, Wyrebek-Brasky, Rae, and Trinity Plott; sophomores in Miley Prue, Angeleah Loftus, Colbie Ryan, and Nataly Pavon; and finally freshmen of Amelia Giantonio, Kolber, Helen Manco, and Hallie Moore.
2023 Valley Regional Softball Team Regular Season Results
April 3: East Hampton 11, Valley Regional 5
April 5: Valley Regional 15, Morgan 5
April 6: Cromwell 14, Valley Regional 1
April 8: Haddam-Killingworth 23, Valley Regional 4
April 18: Valley Regional 21, Old Saybrook-Westbrook 0
April 22: Somers 7, Valley Regional 2
April 24: Valley Regional 1, Portland 0 (win via forfeit)
April 25: North Branford 12, Valley Regional 0
April 26: Coginchaug 11, Valley Regional 6
April 28: Old Lyme 12, Valley Regional 0
May 1: Valley Regional 11, East Hampton 10
May 3: Valley Regional 11, Morgan 6
May 4: Somers 7, Valley Regional 5
May 5: Cromwell 5, Valley Regional 1
May 8: Haddam-Killingworth 9, Valley Regional 5
May 10: North Branford 13, Valley Regional 0
May 11: Hale-Ray 6, Valley Regional 5
May 12: Valley Regional 16, Old Saybrook-Westbrook 2
May 15: Valley Regional 12, Hale-Ray 5
May 16: Valley Regional 14, Windsor Locks 2