GUILDERLAND — It will be just a matter of time before the young Guilderland softball players will make the team one of the top in the Suburban Council again.

Until then, the Lady Dutch will take their lumps as they did in a 15-5 loss to Shaker on Friday. The loss came a day after Guilderland beat Averill Park.
"We played a pretty good game last night," said Guilderland Coach Jessica Allen on Friday. "And the girls did pretty well today."

Allen is taking over the reins as head coach for Jennifer Ficarra, who is waiting to give birth to her first child. Allen is also the daughter of long-time Berne-Knox-Westerlo softball coach and Section II softball chairwoman, Cathy Allen.

The Lady Dutch beat Ballston Spa, 2-1, on Monday.

Backing each other up
"We made a couple of errors," Jessica Allen said. "But we played well defensively for the most part. We were backing each other up and we were calling plays out. They were just hitting the ball."

Shaker batted around the order in the first and third innings. The Blue Bison scored five runs in the first inning and six in the third. Shaker also scored two runs in the second stanza and led, 13-2, heading into the bottom of the third frame.

Laura Napoli and Sara Heller scored runs in the first inning for Guilderland. Deb Schildt drove in Napoli with an RBI groundout.

Heller scored after a passed ball on a strikeout. The ball was misplayed by the Shaker catcher, Kayla Koumjian, and was thrown to first to complete the strikeout; Heller then dashed for home and beat the return throw to the plate.

The Lady Dutch chipped into the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third inning.

Napoli and Heller led off the inning with back-to-back walks. And, after a flyout, Jen McCutcheon walked to load the bases.

Meryl Kremer grounded out, but Napoli was able to score on the play. Rachel Vein singled to drive in Heller.

After Michelle Giwerc walked to load the bases, Nicky Marcucci hit a ball that was misplayed by the Shaker second baseman and allowed McCutcheon to score from third base.

But those would be the only runs the Dutch would score in the game. Guilderland only gave up two runs in the final four innings.
"We had some bright spots," Allen said. "Lauren had a beautiful hit. You can’t do much when the other team is hitting. Shaker has good hitters and good fielders. We can bring only what we can bring to the game. It is out of our control what the other team does."

McCutcheon and Schildt pitched for the Lady Dutch.

After Monday’s game, the Dutch have a 4-3 record in the Suburban Council and are 4-5 overall.

"Improved a lot"

Allen, however, has seen some good things.
"They’ve improved a lot," Allen said of her team. "They are coming together as a team and they support each other. We are a young team and we spend a lot of time getting experience. It’s fun and exciting to see that improvement. When they make a good play, I feel their joy."

The cold and rainy weather has made it difficult for the Lady Dutch to get on the field and work on getting experience.
"We’ve played one game on this field," Allen said on Friday. "We’ve practiced on it twice.
"We’ve had days where we are rained out and can’t get outside," Allen said. "Then there is no gym space, and it’s tough to get practice, so you tell them to just go home. It doesn’t help us to do anything that we can build on."

After Monday’s game, the Lady Dutch were scheduled to play Burnt Hills on Wednesday. Guilderland is then scheduled to play at Shenendehowa on Friday and at Columbia on Monday. The Dutch will then host Bethlehem on Wednesday.

Guilderland has six new varsity players on the team this spring and has only one returning senior.
"We knew that this team had to learn how to come together," Allen said. "They are improving the way they should be."

The improvements will be subtle as the younger players grow into varsity players. But Allen likes what she has seen in the team’s recent play and thinks her players will only get better.
"I thought we played well today," she said on Friday. "They [Shaker] played a little bit better than we did. But we’re getting there. What it comes down to a lot of times is us playing together. And we have been throughout the year; that is always good."