East Meadow softball coach Frank Baglivo has been in this situation before.
Several years ago, Baglivo built his roster around numerous freshmen to being a rebuild following a mass exodus of graduating seniors. Two of them eventually grew into All-State players and some others became key contributors for those teams that made two trips to the county finals and two more semifinal appearances.
That group has now moved on from high school themselves, and Baglivo finds himself again in reset mode, with two sophomores, five freshmen, and two eighth graders highlighting the 15 players on this year’s roster. This group has started 2-4 in their new Conference IV home, but Baglivo is still positive about the future.
“It’s exciting because the group that just graduated, all of those seniors, they, as ninth graders, it was very similar,” he recalled. “It was a building and learning year and then the following year, we were able to go to the finals and semifinals. So, the hope and expectation are that the growing pains will happen this year, but the future is definitely bright.”
Despite the record, the Jets have been very competitive. They pounded Hicksville 16-2 on Opening Day and didn’t embarrass themselves in a 5-0 loss to first-place Island Trees on April 1 and during a tough 2-0 defeat two days later to second-place Herricks, which already has seven overall wins on the young season.
The bats have come alive again with a combined 18 runs in the last three games, with junior first baseman Katelyn Coffey blasting home runs in the latter two contests to go with a .412 average, seven RBIs, and .824 slugging percentage. Sophomore Gabi Shephard is also off to a tremendous start at the plate with a team-leading .524 average, including a two-run homer against Hicksville.
“Gabi is your five-tool player,” Baglivo said. “She can run, she can field, she can pitch, she can hit, and she also has a very high IQ of the game. She’s got a tremendous feeling.”
Shepherd went the distance in the circle against Hicksville, striking out five in the five-inning run-rule contest. Freshman Jenna DeGregori picked up the other pitching victory this season by tossing a complete-game three-hitter with eight strikeouts in a 5-2 win over Garden City on April 5.
Eighth grader Grace Moone has also shown signs of being a future pitching star with a 1.27 ERA and 13 strikeouts thus far.
Freshman catcher Ali Barnwell went 4-for-4 with two RBIs against Hicksville and is batting .381 on the season. Sister outfielders Hailey and Ashley Lipack combined for four hits and six RBIs against the Comets and eighth grader Niki Limberis went 2-for-3 with a key two-run double against Garden City and added two more hits in the Jets’ loss to Calhoun on April 9.
East Meadow embarked on a three-game road trip Wednesday against Plainedge and visits Carle Place and Carey on consecutive days to start next week’s action before returning home to face Clarke on April 26.
