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Palisades softball in familiar position

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Even in sports, history can repeat itself. In sports, getting to consecutive championship finals can help fortify a foundation for a program’s future.

Such is the case for the Palisades softball team. The events leading to a district final this season were aligned in the same pattern when the Pirates won a district title last year, their first since 2010. There was a loss in the league semifinals and then an eventual win in the District Class 3A championship game.

This time around, the top-seeded Pirates were blanked by eventual champion Palmerton, 7-0, in the Colonial League semifinals. Then the second-seed Pirates rebounded to defeat third-seeded Pen Argyl, 5-3, in the opening round of the district playoffs. It set up a title tilt Wednesday evening at Allentown’s Pates Park with Schuylkill League power Pine Grove Area, which entered with a 16-6 record.

“This year felt very similar,” said head coach Jill Amato. “The only difference being a team we haven’t seen yet. Our girls worked very hard during the season, and they haven’t left off the gas.”

Whatever the final outcome, one factor is certain. The Pirates appear to be ready to maintain a level of excellence that they haven’t reached for the better part of the last two decades.

They entered the title tilt with a radiant 20-2 record, losing only a 2-1 squeaker against Pen Argyl before they lost to Palmerton in the semifinals. That was a stretch of 15 consecutive victories.

Over the past two years, the team has won 35 games, and it has a young nucleus. There are a combined 12 freshmen and sophomores, three juniors and one senior.

Sophomore pitcher Karlye Teman has posted a 20-2 record with a 1.40 ERA and 25 strikeouts with 51 walks in 135 innings. Teman has an incredible eight no-hitters.

Teman has cherished all the moments.

“We have had a great season,” she gushed. “We started off very strong at the beginning of the season, and continued to work hard to improve. I believe our two losses this season have made us a better team.”

Lone senior and co-captain Ashley Amato leads the team with a .451 batting average (team-high 32 hits, 20 RBIs), followed by Teman (.417) and sophomore Brooklynn Lucas (.407 with a team-high three home runs). Sophomore Rhiley Poniktera has 10 stolen bases.

“This has been a fabulous season for the girls,” beamed the head coach. “Karlye Teman picked up where she left off. We had a little slower start with our hitting, but we really came together as a whole team.

“The loss in the semifinals was very upsetting because we wanted to win leagues this year. The girls had some miscues early against Palmerton, and they put the ball in play well. But we bounced right back in districts with a win over Pen Argyl, which gave us our only loss in the season.”

Junior co-captain Bri Hunter has watched her team grow on and off the field.

“We are a young team with only one senior this year, which means we will continue to learn and grow together,” said Hunter, who has a .306 average with 14 RBIs. “We came into this season knowing we wanted to be better than we were last year so we set goals right from the start both individually and as a team. We are each goal driven and highly competitive, which helps push us to be the best team we can be.

“One of the things that has been a game changer for us is our ability to carry our momentum throughout a game and feed off of each other’s energy. We get into a rhythm as a team and things fall into place. I feel that we have good on the field communication as well as great support from the dugout. One of our biggest weaknesses at the beginning of the season was being able to bounce back if things weren’t going well. Throughout the season, I feel we really honed that skill and have been able to support each other, pick each other up, and shake bad plays in order to stay in a positive mindset, which has helped us to have a winning season.”

As a leader, Hunter has seen the bond among the players tighten.

“As a captain for both years, I’ve seen a lot of growth and maturity, in both returning and new players,” she said. “I’m proud to see how far the team has made it together and I’m excited to see where the program will go in the upcoming years. A lot of us have grown up in the Palisades softball program whether playing with each other or against each other and are just comfortable with one another. It’s like a family.We have really supportive coaching, which makes playing the game fun and easy to do.”

Ashley Amato, the coach’s daughter, has admired her team’s grit, battling with a target on their backs. She has watched her team develop from a 3-15 campaign three seasons ago.

“I am very excited about how this season has gone,” she said. “We have fought past so many teams coming for revenge toward us, and I feel that made us stronger and helped create a better bond. Heading into the finals was more special because we knew what we were capable of doing.”

The younger Amato strived to make her final Pirates’ season a good one.

“This has been special for me because this is my last season playing softball,” she said. “I worked my hardest to make sure everyone on the team enjoyed every moment.”


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