Stoughton High Softball Looks for Return Trip to Postseason

The spring high school sports season is underway and the Stoughton High softball team is ready to start its schedule earlier than most. The Black Knights will open up with a non-league contest at Norton on Thursday, March 29, fresh off a a year ago.

Janet Sullivan is ready to begin her 22nd season as the varsity coach. After much success, the team ran into some lean years before .

The team returns a host of seniors, but will need to replace the loss of some very valuable graduates. The senior class of 2011 was very talented and displayed great leadership both on and off the field.

Lost to graduation is the very formidable pitcher/catcher duo of . Olans was among the Hockomock League’s top hurlers, while Zuk led the team as a solid signal caller and had a great on field presence. Colleen Flaherty, a center fielder and lead off hitter, Nicole Beauregard, a right fielder and Megan Guerard at second base, will also be very tough to replace.

“We need to not only replace strong players, but also great leaders, but we return a lot of players that are seniors and have varsity experience,” Sullivan said.

“We have 12 seniors, 18 players and great team chemistry. Our roster has many versatile players that can play many positions which also will help us. We just need to get off to a good start and get our pitching and catching settled right away.”

The team will be led by four captains: Nicole Barton (third base) is a senior and junior Megan Flaherty (shortstop) both return to solidify the left side of the infield. Nicole Hayner and Felicia Baptista, both seniors, can play many positions and have varsity experience.

Emily Cramer, only a sophomore, will be called upon to replace Olans as the team’s pitcher. Cramer was an outfielder and a backup to Olans last season, and will be called upon to fill a huge void for the Black Knights. Elizabeth Casano, a senior, and another strong pitcher, will move up from the JV squad and will also see action on the mound for Stoughton.

Another important position to fill is behind the plate. Not only is Zuk gone, but so is her backup catcher Bailey Olsen who moved to Rockland. Hannah Carpenter, a senior, will move up from the JV team and two promising freshmen, Samantha Mattie and Payton Pizzano also could be called upon to fill the catcher position.

Ashley Gibson, a senior, and junior Emma Zuk are both up from last year’s JV squad to help this season with their versatility and speed.

Also back to the lineup is senior Kelsey Moriarty. Moriarty was one of the team’s top hitters a year ago and can also help out around the first base bag as well. Jordan Angelos returns to the lineup in left field and senior Katherine Chlus is back to help shore up the infield.

A trio of senior outfielders, Jessica Freitas, Jackie Kuhn and Elizabeth Roch all are back for Stoughton. Senior Stephanie Herr also is back with her strong bat and ability to play numerous positions.

“We got back to the (postseason) tournament last year and this team got a taste of winning and what it takes to win,” Sullivan said. “Now we just got to find the right combination and everyone’s role on the team and continue to work hard.”

The 19-game schedule features five non-league contests with a pair of games, home and away, against Norton and Quincy along with an end of the regular season crossover game at a Kelly-Rex (large schools) Division opponent that finishes in the same position in the standings that Stoughton does in the Davenport (small schools) Division.

Stoughton will play four of the Kelly-Rex Division teams (Mansfield, North Attleboro, Franklin and powerhouse King Philip) once each and Attleboro (home and away) twice. Stoughton will also play the other four Davenport teams (Canton, Sharon, Foxboro and a tough Oliver Ames team) twice each, home and away.