Freshman Abby Buser blasting her first career home run for Waldwick, which remained unbeaten with a 10-0 win over Midland Park.
WALDWICK – Having an experienced pitcher in the circle is a luxury for any softball team and Waldwick senior Hailey Zirpoli certainly fits that description. The steady right-hander is a strike-thrower and, with a solid defense behind her, the Warriors know that a few early runs can go a long way. Facing Midland Park, they not only gave Zirpoli a lead but essentially put the game away after just one inning.
Freshman Abby Buser crushed her first varsity homerun in the midst of an eight-run outburst as Waldwick stayed undefeated on the season with a 10-0, five-inning victory over Midland Park that took just 55 minutes to complete on Wednesday afternoon in Waldwick.
“When we score early it gives us a lot of energy that we feed off of for the rest of the game,” said Zirpoli. “Everyone trusts each other at the plate and in the field. It’s a lot easier to play with a lead and that’s our goal every game.”
Waldwick wasted little time grabbing a lead on a two-run double to right-center off the bat of Emma Seifert. Then Busser stepped to the plate and doubled the lead with one swing. She got a ball out over the plate and crushed it over the left-field fence to make the score 4-0. That was just the beginning as Ava DeCicco, Gianna Marco, and Maggie Seifert all had RBI singles with the Warriors sending 12 batters to the plate and holding an 8-0 lead after one inning.
Ava DeCicco putting the bat on the ball for Waldwick, which is now 5-0 on the season.
With a ton of run support, Zirpoli went into cruise control early. She mixed speeds and threw her riser effectively all game long to keep the Panthers guessing at the plate.
The Warriors got to the ten-run mercy threshold by using alert baserunning in the bottom half of the fourth inning. With two outs and the bases loaded a dropped throw on a force allowed one run to score with another runner scoring all the way from second base on the play to make it 10-0. Zirpoli closed out the game with a 1-2-3 fifth.
“We put a lot of emphasis on our work ethic and our emotions,” said Waldwick senior Ella Smith. “It feels great to be undefeated so far. We have a crazy sort of energy. Coaches, players, parents, fans, we all seem to pick up one another and it’s great to be around all of it.”
Zirpoli was masterful in the circle for Waldwick (5-0). She gave up just two hits with no walks and six strikeouts. Even more impressive was that she tossed just 41 pitches for the shutout with 37 of them going for strikes.
Sara Stern and Heidi Marcus had the hits for Midland Park (2-4).
With a strong start to the season, the Warriors are enjoying the ride they are on thus far and hope it leads to even greater success down the road.
“Every single thing we do from taking a ground ball, running a lap at practice, every pitch, every swing, every play in the field has a meaning,” said Zirpoli. “All of those things lead to the big picture of competing and striving to win but also having fun while we’re playing. It’s what this game is really about. Spending time with some of your closest friends and working towards a common goal.”
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