Crusader softball, Eagle baseball teams looking good in 2019

The Holy Cross softball and Wolcott baseball teams finished their 2018 seasons in the last possible game.

The Crusaders and Eagles reached their respective state championship games, and while each team lost in those contests, they made great runs through the postseason.

Each team loses seniors to graduation, but both return plenty of talent and promise for 2019. Holy Cross and Wolcott have the potential make another memorable run in the state tournament next season. Here’s a lookahead for both:

HOLY CROSS SOFTBALL

Junior Allie Brown shed tears after Friday night’s 5-4 Class S state final loss to Stafford, including some with outgoing senior Nicole Strielkauskas. Strielkauskas had a solid senior season and helped the Crusaders reach the state final for the fourth straight season in her first year pitching since she was a sophomore. Strielkauskas is gone in 2019, as is her classmate Alex Lombardo. To say that Holy Cross would have loved to have Lombardo in the lineup and on the field this season is a big understatement. She batted in the heart of the order, and she was solid at first base.

Brown was still gracious in her postgame interview, and she was even able to smile through her sadness. The Crusaders had another great postseason run, and they made it to their fourth straight final.

“They were a great team,” head coach Meg Dwyer said. “It’s a great experience to be here.”

Brown will be back in 2019, as will her twin sister Hannah. They will be seniors, and they will be joined by fellow seniors Val Nobrega, Carley DeFoe and Julia Joyce, who were all starters. Jenna Mowad, Lizzy Diorio and Brandi McIntosh will form a core of experienced juniors who came of age during their sophomore campaigns. Bryn DeFoe will be a sophomore and has a solid freshman season to build upon.

Holy Cross has potential for another big season in 2019.

“I think we could,” Allie Brown said when asked if the Crusaders could get back to the final in 2019. “We’re going to have to be changing pitchers.”

Someone will have to fill in the shoes of Strielkauskas, who battled for Holy Cross all season. A major positive for Holy Cross is that everyone besides Strielkauskas who started in the 2018 state final is slated to be back in 2019. That’s nine out of 10 players when designated player Bryn DeFoe is included.

Dwyer said there’s a lot of work to be done, but Holy Cross can be good again.

“If they work hard, they can put up a good fight next year,” Dwyer said.

Dwyer said the seniors instilled in the younger players a sense of what the Crusaders are all about, which is the team, the program and building a foundation for future success.

GALLERY

Here are my photos from the Class S state final.

 

WOLCOTT BASEBALL

The Eagles weren’t thinking about 2019 after Saturday night’s lopsided loss to Seymour in the Class M state final, and that’s understood.

Wolcott had come so close to a coveted second state championship, only to see the dream turn into a nightmare. It was a rough way to end a great postseason run, and it was the final game for seniors Nick Longo, Nick Trager, Ethan Gillotti, Tino Ciarlo and Alex Martinez.

Longo and Trager were on the 2016 Class M state championship team, and that will be a part of the legacy they leave behind.

Wolcott is slated to bring back a strong senior class in 2019. Jack Drewry, Brett Adams and Dane Hassan will anchor the pitching staff. Hassan and Drewry will continue to give opposing pitchers fits at the top of the Eagle lineup.

Also returning as seniors are Jeff Nicol and Trey Nastri, Nicol as the solid backstop and Nastri at the hot corner. Anthony Ligi and Reece Ketchum will also be seniors.

Alex James leads the 2019 team’s junior roster, and he’s joined by classmates Tom Marciano, Owen Yost, Jon Moore and Mitch Lanza.

Wolcott returns good pitching and some talented offensive players to a team that could do both well in 2018. The future is bright for the Eagles in 2019, and they will surely be motivated after coming up short in the 2018 Class M state final.

GALLERY

Here are my photos from Saturday night’s Class M state final.