SUNY Old Westbury softball enters the 2017 season looking to make a return to Skyline Conference Championship play for the first time since 2012.
Old Westbury nearly missed out of a postseason berth and finished seventh in the conference standings last season with a 6-12 record in league play, and ended the campaign with a 10-14 overall record. First-year head coach Kathy Morrell’s Panthers received 30 points and were pegged to finish seventh in the 2017 Skyline Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Mount Saint Mary was the unanimous pick to repeat as conference champs, finishing with all nine first-place votes and 81 total points in the poll (click here for full poll).
Old Westbury will field a roster of 17 in 2017 that feature 10 returners and seven newcomers.
Two-time All-Skyline Conference senior outfielder Gabriella Valdes (Flushing, NY / Benjamin N. Cardozo HS) and All-Skyline sophomore shortstop Samantha Scharff (Seaford, NY / Island Trees HS) will lead the charge. Valdes batted a career-best .411 a season ago with 24 runs scored, 15 RBI, six stolen bases, one home run and three triples at the top of the Panthers lineup. As a career .348 hitter, Valdes enters her final season with 88 hits, 68 runs scored and 32 RBI in 82 games played. Scharff hit in the middle of the lineup to lead the team in batting average (.418), slugging percentage (.612) and on-base percentage (.481). She also started six games behind the plate and finished her rookie season with 16 RBI, 16 runs scored, seven doubles, three triples and nine walks while sporting a .953 fielding percentage.
Senior Katie Rizzo (Garden City, NY / Kellenberg Memorial HS) provided Old Westbury with a spark at first base by hitting a career-best .364 with 14 RBI and 21 runs scored in 2016. Rizzo has started all but one of Old Westbury’s 83 games in the last three seasons.
Senior Delana Murray (Jamaica, NY / Construction, Trades, Engineering & Architecture HS) had a bounce-back year in 2016 that saw her start in all 24 games to hit a career-high .368 with 14 runs scored, eight RBI and nine stolen bases. She also produced a team-leading 10 multi-hit games.
In the circle, the Panthers bring back senior Nicole DeCola (New Hyde Park, NY / New Hyde Park Memorial HS). In three seasons, DeCola has compiled 142 in 267.2 innings pitched while going the distance in 35 of her 43 starts to compile 16 wins. DeCola has also batted .257 with 19 RBI in 109 career at-bats. Magdalena Wysocka (West Hempstead, NY / West Hempstead HS) rounds out the senior class of five, and will looking to make her debut in 2017 as a corner outfielder.
Junior Amanda Fucci (Bellmore, NY / W.C. Mepham HS) has two-years of pitching experience by tossing 23 complete games in 31 starts to register 130 strikeouts in 186.1 innings of work. Fucci, a career .323 hitter, also saw time at second and third base in 2016. She is coming off a season in which she compiled a career-high three home runs, 22 RBI, 13 runs scored and nine doubles. Starting in all 24 games, Fucci led the team in home runs, doubles, extra-base hits, RBI,
Junior Otilia Bernal (Westbury, NY / Westbury HS) will make the full transition to outfield in 2017 after playing six of her 20 games played at second base.
Sophomore Kaite Skelly (Bellport, NY / Bellport HS) started 18 games behind the plate and five at third base to provide the lineup with a .313 batting average. She also scored 10 runs and drove in nine in 23 games played. Skelly will also see time at second base in 2017.
Sophomore Krysta Flareau (Bay Shore, NY / St. John the Baptist Diocesan HS) will be positioned primarily in the outfield after seeing starts at first base (2), second base (9), third base (2) and outfield (5) in 2016.
Of the seven newcomers, Old Westbury will look for instant impact from freshmen hurlers Lauren Bloom(Hicksville, NY / Bethpage HS) and Amanda Neenan (Staten Island, NY / Curtis HS), and shortstop/catcherAmelia Cariddi (Seaford, NY / Seaford HS). Both Bloom and Cariddi were recognized as All-New York State selections while Neenan was named the Smith Cup winner as Staten Island’s most outstanding high school player. When not pitching, Bloom will add a boost to the experienced outfield and Neenan will see time at second base.
Senior Joshlyn Grant (Oyster Bay, NY / Oyster Bay HS) will be featured as a corner outfielder and at shortstop, while Synthia Betances (Oyster Bay, NY / Baltimore HS for the Arts), a junior transfer from Nassau Community College, will vie for playing time in the crowded outfield. Freshmen Madelyn Bowen(Massapequa Park, NY / Massapequa HS) and Diana Amaya (Brentwood, NY / Brentwood HS) both provide depth at third base while Bowen will be tested as a corner outfielder.
Old Westbury opens the 2017 slate March 23 when they travel to Sarah Lawrence College for a Skyline Conference showdown. The Panthers return home March 24 for a conference showdown against Yeshiva University.
In total, Old Westbury will play 16 of its 32-game regular-season schedule in front of its home fans, as 10 are slated for Skyline Conference matchups.
