John Jay Wolves celebrate win over Brewster in home opener

Carys Cooper scores the winning run on her birthday for the Wolves. JIM MACLEAN PHOTO

By JIM MACLEAN 

It was a perfect way to celebrate a victory as the John Jay varsity softball team gathered around teammate Carys Cooper after the Wolves had defeated Brewster 8-3 in the first home game of the season.

Cooper scored what proved to be the winning run, and she also came through with a two-out single for an RBI. That set the stage for a happy ending as the Wolves formed a circle around Cooper and serenaded her with a lively version of the “Happy Birthday” song to help her celebrate her big day.

“Yes, it just feels great to be out here with my team, a great day for softball,” Cooper said of her birthday celebration. “We were all contributing the whole game, all fired up, keeping the energy up supporting each other. We’ve spent so many years playing softball together since childhood, and that contributed to our chemistry and how well we mesh together on the field.”

It was also great to finally have a game on the home field as John Jay had gone away over the break to Florida and the Wolves had started the season with two games on the road. With the win over Brewster in the home opener the Wolves improved to 2-1 overall.

And it was a homecoming for first year varsity head coach Theresa Swertfager-Assumma as she returned to the home field at John Jay where she was an All-State softball star.

“I was having a little déjà vu and it feels great to be back,” admitted Swertfager-Assumma. “We went to Florida for six days and that was great, but we’ve only had three games and we’re very, very excited to get going. They’re all starting to click and so connected as a group on and off the field. It’s going to be a fun year.”

John Jay knew it would be a tough game against a tough opponent in Brewster, and the Bears got off to a fast start scoring three runs in the top of the second inning to take a 3-0 lead.

The Wolves started to rally back in the bottom of the second as Kristin Zabrocki drilled a shot in the gap for a lead-off triple, and she came home to score on a grounder by McKenna Foote to make it 3-1.

Then the Wolves took control with a four-run rally in the fourth inning as McKenna Foote and Bella Barry led it off with a pair of walks. Cooper then grounded one to third that resulted in a throwing error as one run scored. Laney Daly then came through with an RBI single to score Cooper to give the Wolves the lead for good at 4-3. Clara Doherty then had an RBI single to score Daly and make it 5-3.

That was all the runs John Jay would need as pitcher Maria DeGaetano shut the Bears down after allowing the three runs in the second inning. She struck out seven and only allowed one hit over the final five innings on the mound.

“Maria did a great job, she was our player of the game today,” Swertfager-Assumma said of DeGaetano. “She really settled in and got a lot of strike outs, a lot of ground outs and pop ups. She was doing her job.”

The Wolves were not done as Zabrocki led off the fifth inning with another hit, and Cooper delivered a two-out single to score her and make it 6-3.

John Jay added two more runs in the sixth inning as Elise Templeton reached on a bunt single to lead it off, Doherty followed with a single, and they both came around to score on a fielder’s choice from Riley Foote to make the final score 8-3.

An impressive game all around for the Wolves as everyone in the lineup contributed and the defense came up with the plays behind DeGaetano to close it out. Doherty finished with three hits to lead the Wolves, while Zabrocki had two hits.

It all adds up to a good start for a roster loaded with veterans returning hoping for a strong season. Daly is a senior returning as the starting shortstop surrounded by familiar faces as just about the entire starting lineup is back for the Wolves.

“My fourth year on varsity, and some of the juniors were eighth graders on the team, so we’ve been playing together for so long,” explained Daly. “It’s a great community, everyone bonds so well together, cheering for each other, such a close knit team, and we’re excited to see what we can do this season.”