Tiverton softball preview: Young team looks to have a strong presence in D-III

Photos and story by Richard W Dionne Jr
Posted 4/26/18

The Tiverton High School softball team has strong pitching, a strong infield and can crush the ball. The one down side, they are really young.

“We are mostly all freshman and sophomores,” …

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Tiverton softball preview: Young team looks to have a strong presence in D-III

Posted

The Tiverton High School softball team has strong pitching, a strong infield and can crush the ball. The one down side, they are really young.

“We are mostly all freshman and sophomores,” admitted Head Coach Josh Mello. “No Juniors and one senior. The younger kids have some talent and experience playing softball. But they are still developing. As long as we are getting better each day, we are achieving one of our goals.”

Coach Mello has been coaching a variety of sports at Tiverton High since 1999. He began coaching the junior varsity softball team in 2007 and took over the varsity head coaching position in 2013 when his dad, Arthur Mello, stepped down. Arthur coached softball for 18 years at the high school, winning Division II championships in 2001, 2002.

His dad is now his assistant coach along with Rachel Andrews.

The current team is 2-1 in Division III.

Hitting is one of the Tiger’s strengths.

“The team has a bunch of girls that have some pop in their bat. They can hit the gap and they have good speed,” said coach Mello. “When are fundamentals are there we can definitely hit the ball real well.”

The Lady Tigers beat up on Central 15-5 and Classical 13-3 and lost to Davies 6-13.

“We tried to do too much with the bats and we had a tough day defensively,” coach Mello said about the loss at Davies.

“Errors forced our pitcher to make more pitches than she had too. When you give away outs and give away runs, it’s hard to come to bat and make that up.”

Still coach Mello sees a lot of upside in his young team.

“Our potential is there,” he said. “We have to show up and play good softball and make that our priority.”

Pitchers

The Tigers have three sophomore pitchers at their disposal.

Emma Franklin is last year’s returning starting pitcher.

“Emma was a little bit rusty against Davies, but she threw the ball hard,” said coach Mello. “She picked up velocity on her fast ball from last year and can throw a variety of pitches.”

Emma can throw two different fastballs, a change up and a drop ball. “It’s like a sinker ball,” coach Mello said.

Margeaux Souza played lacrosse, but came back to softball.

“She is acclimating back to softball pretty quickly,” said coach Mello. “She throws a fastball and change up. She has good movement on her fast ball.”

Lealyn Sanford is the junior varsity starting pitcher.

“She is a hard worker. Lealyn is coming along so well, I have no reservations about putting her in a varsity game” said coach Mello.

“She has to focus on her mechanics and pound the strike zone. If she does that she’ll be very successful.”

Infielders

“We have a really strong infield, one of the better infields that I’ve had, talent wise,” said coach Mello.

Freshman Mackenzie Kiley is the Tiger’s shortstop.

“She has all the potential in the world as being a five tool player. She can hit and run the bases. She has good instincts, good range and is an excellent infielder,” said coach Mello. “She plays year round she’s the type of kid that never gets enough softball.”

Freshman Mikayla Andrews plays third base.

“She’s a very aggressive softball player. She’s still developing with her decision making, but she has a lot of potential,” said coach Mello. “Offensively Mikayla has a lot of pop in her bat. She lined a double down the third baseline against Davies. When she gets a hold of the ball it’s going to go a long way.”

Sophomore Jaimi Vaillancourt is the Tiger’s first baseman.

“Jaimi is a returning player from last year. She’s my best hitter.” coach Mello said. “She’s a real coachable kid. She plays first base instinctively. She can pick balls out of dirt, catch errant throws. Offensively, Jaimi hits the ball hard, right on the screws. It’s scary to pitch batting practice to her,” said coach Mello.

Sophomore Marissa Cayer plays second base.

“She took over the second base spot last year, stepping in for a senior. The Tigers platoon two sophomores at catcher, Ella Schneider and Maree Feld. Both girls are emotional leaders for the team, said coach Mello.

“Ella is an all around player with a good softball IQ. She a good catcher and knows the pitchers really well,” he said.

Up Next:

The Lady Tigers play at Hope High School on Thursday at 4 p.m.

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