2023 Softball Season Recap: Power of Youth and Leadership

The Worcester State Softball team had a record breaking 2023 season. The Lancers finished the season 25-18 (.581), in MASCAC play, their record was 9-5 (.643) and the team made the playoffs as the third seed.

The Lancers started their playoff run facing off against the sixth seeded Mass. Maritime Buccaneers and MASCAC Player and Rookie of the Year Ab’c’de Patane in the first round of the playoffs. The Lancers swept the Bucs in the final doubleheader of the regular season, including one mercy ruled game before they opened the playoffs against Mass. Maritime at home where Worcester defeated the Bucs easily 6-1 to cement themselves as a top team in the conference.

With the win, Worcester advanced to the winners bracket where they traveled to the second seeded Bridgewater State Bears for the MASCAC Quarterfinal. The Lancers lost 3-2 in heartbreaking fashion with the score at 2-1 in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and runners on second and third.

On a brutally hot Saturday afternoon, the Lancers needed a road win at a neutral site in Framingham against the fourth seeded Westfield State Owls to keep their postseason alive but after a strong battle, the Owls advanced forcing Worcester to complete their MASCAC Championship run next season. With a dearth of returning talent, the question is not will they, but how quickly will a championship come to Bianchini and the Blue and Gold

Keri Bianchini (62-86) entered her fourth season as the Lancers head coach. Bianchini is fresh off of a MASCAC Coach of the Year selection with the Lancers entering the 2023 season tied for first in the Coaches Preseason Poll . She was assisted by Lauren Hatfield and Rachel Economos.

Team Hitting Stats:

Contact was the name of the game for Lancer bats this season. The team finished with the most hits (397) in the MASCAC while also finishing second in team batting average (.332). They finished third in RBIs (202) and runs (223). Worcester placed second to last in team strikeouts (116), only three more than the first ranked team, showcasing their ability to put the ball into play.

When it came to on-base and slugging percentage, the Lancers finished in the middle of the pack. They placed fourth in SLG (.424) and fifth in OBP (.369). Surprising numbers with the team having the most hits and second best batting average, but the team did not walk that much or have as many extra base hits on the season, tending to go for all or nothing when at bat. Worcester finished third in extra base hits (86).  

Some areas that the Lancers struggled with were walks, stolen bases, and home runs. They swiped 28 bags, seventh best in the conference. Worcester finished eighth in walks (68). When they were at the plate, they were looking to swing and make the opposing team make plays. The team finished sixth in homeruns (6) with the help of young phenom third baseman first year Bella Gasbarro (Leominster, MA) hitting three of those. 

Individual Hitting:

What didn’t Gasparro do this season offensively? She was named to the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) All-Region Second Team and the MASCAC All-Conference First Team as a First Year and her stats back up the nomination. She led the team in nearly every offensive category and was at the top of the leaderboards in the MASCAC as well.

Gasparro led the team in BA (.409), fifth best in the conference, with an OPS of 1.055, making her one of the most successful hitters this season. She led the team in hits (56), tied for second in the MASCAC, and had the most RBIs (33), fifth best in the conference. Her 20 extra base hits were good for fifth best in the league as she hit half of the Lancers total home runs (3) while leading the team in triples (4) and doubles (13).

With Gasbarro leading one of the best offenses in the conference, she had plenty of help. Also selected to All-Conference First Team was sophomore catcher Abigail Koziol (Lunenburg, MA).

Koziol finished her season with a .368 BA, fourteenth best in the MASCAC. She ended the year with an OPS of .843. Koziol finished third on the team in hits (42) as well. 

Former Rookie of the Year and now 2023 All-Conference Second Team shortstop sophomore Emma Lanpher (Charlton, MA) finished the season second on the team in hits (45) and tied for second on the team in RBIs (21) with teammates Koziol and First Year outfielder Bailey Tammaro (Fitchburg, MA). Lanpher had a .349 BA, 27th best in the MASCAC.

Big contributions were made by senior outfielder and utility player Jacqui Schwalm (Billerica, MA), junior first baseman Lauren Dube (Leominster, MA), and First Year second baseman Emma Lapoint (Westfield, MA). Schwalm and Dube were also selected to the All-Conference Second Team, Dube’s second year in a row on the named team. Schwalm finished the year off with a monster .387 BA and an OPS of .845. Dube had 19 hits, a BA of .284 and an .758 OPS. She had the second most BB (7) on the squad.

Second baseman and outfielder Emily Lapoint, who received MASCAC Rookie of the Week once this season, finished fourth on the team in hits (35) with a .327 BA and an OPS of .793. She was tied for third on the team in XBH with Lanpher as senior third baseman Rachel Sinclair (Westminster, MA) finished ahead of them with 10.

Bailey Tamarro made an impact for this team offensively as well. She finished her season fifth on the team in hits (33), tied for second in RBIs (21), and had the most stolen bases on the team (7). 

First Year utility player Amanda Adamuska (Dudley, MA) received MASCAC Rookie of the Week honors twice this season with a .390 BA and a .880 OPS in 59 at bats. 

First Year catcher and utility player Morgan Keefe (Dracut, MA) also received a Rookie of the Week nomination on the season just to further highlight the breadth of young talent this team has for seasons to come. Her season consisted of 32 hits, a .364 BA and an OPS of .809 in 88 at bats.  

Team Pitching:

The Lancers essentially stuck with the amazing duo of ERA master senior Jen Thorburn (Groton, MA) and junior strikeout leader and former MASCAC Pitcher of the Year Emily Bartlett (Lowell, MA). Sophomore Sarah Gosselin (Charlton, MA) received a large load of work as well, not only coming for relief, but as a trusted starting option on the Lancers mound.

Thorburn was honored with a All-Conference First Team selection with Bartlett being named to the All-Conference Second Team. Not too bad for a team to have both pitchers that can get it done.

The three combined to allow the least amount of hits in the conference (270). Worcester pitching struck out the most opponents with 270 punchouts by a large margin as the second closest team was 196 strikeouts and third place finishing with 161 for reference. That had them leading the K/7 category with 6.64 as second place finished with a 4.94 K/7.

The team finished with the second lowest opponent ERA (3.07) while also having the second least amount of earned runs (125) given up. 

Individual Pitching:

Thorburn in her final collegiate season appeared 23 times with 103 innings pitched. Bartlett took the circle 25 times with 104 innings of work. Behind them was Gosselin as she appeared in 20 games with 57 innings pitched.

Thorburn finished second in the MASCAC in ERA (2.31) and fifth in strikeouts (80). Her K/7 rate was fourth best (5.44). Bartlett finished the season with an ERA of 3.70, seventh best in the conference as Gosselin finished right in front of her with a 3.56 ERA in less work.

Where Bartlett was a monster is her strikeout numbers. She led the MASCAC in K’s (145) by a significant margin. The next closest had 101. The former Pitcher of the Year had a conference best K/7 of 9.76, the second closest being 6.45. She continues to rack up strikeouts at an unprecedented pace and reached 300 on her career earlier in the season

With her strikeout numbers, if she is able to rain in her slightly larger walked batter numbers, she walked the most batters in the conference (67), she will be untouchable next season.

Fielding:

The team finished the season with the least amount of errors in the conference (52). Worcester was second in fielding percentage (.957), .001 behind league leading Framingham State. Being the second best team defensively, it confirms that this team were legit threats in all aspects of the game.

Defense is one of the least looked at aspects of the game but it could be the most important as it prevents runners from unnecessarily advancing and scoring. The Lancers found themselves in a great spot defensively proving that they got it done on the field. 

Conclusion:

The Lancers were a relatively young team losing three seniors to graduation. Seniors Jen Thorburn, Jacqui Schwalm, and outfielder Naraylee Baez (Northborough, MA) will be moving on. Baez finished her senior year with .287 average and .634 OPS. She was second on the team in stolen bases (6) and triples (1) with 10 RBIs in 80 plate appearances.

Losing out on two players that both made All-Conference teams and produced elite production will be tough to recoup from. Baez’s speed and senior leadership will also be crucially missed as she was an essential not only in the outfield but with her speed around the bases, given an inch she would take two bases.

Since the team is young, they have plenty of options that have produced and show potential to take the Lancers to a championship. 

Thorburn’s innings and ERA will be hard to replace along with Schwalm’s and Baez’s numbers. Bartlett will look to return with a monster season with Gosselin working to become the number two in the rotation.

Their hitting hopefully won’t miss a beat with Gasbarro, Lanpher, Lapoint, Koziol, with the list going on and on.

They were too good offensively to take a step back without their lost seniors. Rachel Sinclair will be returning as a graduate student, retaining some of the lost leadership and experience. Sinclair finished her season with a .320 average and .784 OPS in 100 appearances. She was named to the 2022 MASCAC All-Conference Second Team last season. 

This year may have ended in disappointment with an early playoff exit for the Lancers, but things are looking great for next season with the team being another year older with promising potential.

With the extra experience and going through the playoffs, this year will have given valuable lessons and experience to those returning. They have a real chance of making it all the way next year and it should be fun to watch.    

~ Sean Rollins ~