Lightning - and Millbrook - end Lady Spartan's season

Florida - It wasn’t really the rain and lightning that did in the Lady Spartan softball team as much as it was the pitching of Millbrook’s Kallie Relyea. The Class C semi-final game at Florida’s Walter R. Sturr Park began under dark skies and ended amid lightning strikes and the rumble of thunder. Millbrook scored two runs in the third inning on three hits off Spartan Melissa Oliphant and added one more in the sixth when the game was delayed and finally called because of the continuing storms. Florida did not get much going against Relyea. Oliphant’s single in the third and Mallory Matuseski’s single in the fifth were the only Spartan hits. Eight Lady Spartans went down on strikes. The loss left coach Don Lewis’ team with a 16-6 overall record, one of the best in recent memory. Much of that success was due to the emergence of Oliphant, a senior, as a steady, control pitcher and an even steadier hitter. Interestingly, the only other senior on the team was outfielder Janice Harter. So the future does bode well for the Lady Spartans who will probably drop back down to Class D and play one Division down next year. Of course that’s the Division that Chapel Field has dominated of late. Five juniors - Jillian Harter, Larissa Broman, Patti Collins, Kathleen Mosca and Colleen Hamel - should provide the experience next spring. And sophomore starters Mallory Matuseski at short and Kathleen Folkl at first should be fixtures in those positions. Lauren Pennings, a third sophomore, will be back as well. Michelle Dugan, a freshman, played well at third base, hit effectively and saw spot duty on the mound. Another freshman, Vivien Greiser, showed promise as a catcher and outfielder and should be even better next year. For now the Lady Spartans can relax and look back at those 16 wins with a great deal of satisfaction.