Young squad poised to take the helm

All you had to do was look at the number of errors for the season for North Arlington’s softball team.

The Lady Vikings compiled 100 errors on the season including a devastating loss leading up to the state playoff cutoff. North Arlington lost to Lyndhurst and committed 13 errors in the game.

"If we cut our errors in half next season we will win seven or eight more games," said North Arlington head coach John Galante.

In the end the Lady Vikings would be one game short of making the New Jersey state playoffs. North Arlington had even decided that they would skip the Bergen County tournament to help concentrate on the state tournament.

The Lady Vikings would finish with a 10-13 record including 8-10 in the BCSL National division, good for fifth in the league.

"We didn’t hit the ball well and very suspect defense," said North Arlington head coach John Galante who returned after a one-year absence as head coach. "With all of that we still won 10 games this season. Overall it was a successful season. There is a lot of optimism for next year."

Three members of North Arlington were named to the all league team with senior third baseman Ally Golda named to the first team while sophomore Samantha Veneziano was named to the second team and senior Alexandra Abromaitis was named to the honorable mention team.

For Golda, she was the heart and soul of the team as captain and she hit .306 on the season with a .510 on-base percentage while stealing 16 bases and compiling 16 RBI. Golda also scored 21 runs.

"She was our best player and captain of the team," said Galante. "She was the leader not only during the season, but in the off season where she would head the fundraising drives. She’s a great kid and a great student."

Golda, who also pitched a couple of games, is heading to Stockton College where she will major in physical therapy and is hoping to play softball.

It was a much better sophomore year for Veneziano who cut down on her mistakes and improved on her qualities. "I set goals for her and she reached her goals including cutting down her walks in half," said Galante.

After pitching the entire season as a freshman, the sophomore cut her walks to 75 while striking out 160 batters in 130 innings. She also had a 1.60 ERA. "She was consistent and gave us a chance to win," said Galante.

During the season Galante points to two victories as the highlights of the season with a 5-4 victory over Hasbrouck Heights and a 5-4 win over Wood-Ridge. In the win one of the freshmen that had a major impact on the team this season, first baseman Christine Amador, who scored the winning run, to defeat the Aviators.

Also, in the win over the Lady Blue Devils, Wood-Ridge almost caught up to North Arlington with the tying run on third base with one out. "I went out and told her to strike out the next two batters and she did just that," said Galante.

For Galante and the Lady Vikings the main focus will be on the defense. Cutting down the errors will go a long way for North Arlington getting back to the state and county tournaments.