They start their softball players young in Sunapee.
As early as third grade, would-be Lakers are learning the basics and by middle school they’re absorbing strategy and the finer points of the game. It pays off in high school, where last month Sunapee High won its second consecutive NHIAA Division IV title and capped a 20-0 season.
Lakers coach Bonnie Cruz said the first game, a 10-1 defeat of Willton-Lyndeborough, served notice that a repeat was realistic.
“They’ve been our toughest competition in the past and basically mercy-ruled us during my time coaching,” said Cruz, a former Randolph High player who’s guided her current program for eight seasons and helped it to an 18-2 record in 2015. “This was the first time we beat them at home.
“This year was more challenging than last year, but with the returning girls we had, I felt like we had a good chance to get back to the title game again.”
Sunapee brought back its entire starting infield, including rifle-armed catcher Lexie Hamilton, who’s a multi-sport standout like so many of her teammates. The Lakers also field top-notch teams in volleyball, soccer and basketball.
The Lakers outscored their opponents by a combined 191-35, posted seven shutouts and rode Katie Frederick’s powerful pitching arm. The 6-foot-2 junior made for an imposing opponent, bending and stretching during her windup before exploding towards overmatched batters. It showed in the numbers: an 18-0 record, 152 strikeouts, two no-hitters, allowing just 13 runs over 91 innings for a 1.00 earned-run average.
“She’s so tall that she releases two or three feet closer to you than other pitchers,” said Woodsville coach Dana Huntington, whose team fell to Sunapee in extra innings during the division quarterfinals. “And those long levers of hers really make a difference.”
Said Cruz: “Softball is a mental game, and Katie has a presence in the circle. Her teammates like that and feel confident. And when she wasn’t pitching, we could go with Faith Larpenter, who’s a lefty and has a different approach. It gave us a 1-2 punch.”
Frederick, her sister Meghan, and teammates Rachel Malanga, Larpenter and Jessica Parsons were among the Lakers who volunteered to coach elementary school players. Cruz, a physical education teacher at that level, said her high school competitors didn’t just say a few words here and there. They became deeply involved in coaching the younger girls.
“Faith and Katie would come in during open gym to show kids how to pitch,” Cruz said. “And after our practices in the afternoon, all those girls would stay and work with the third- and fourth-grade teams. One would do the scorebook, two would coach the bases and somebody else would be out on the field, showing girls where to go, herding kittens.”
Such efforts also reinforced the sense that the Lakers were playing for the entire Sunapee community and not just their school. It fostered dedication, intensity, commitment and focus.
“I’m so fortunate to be able to coach such an amazing group of girls who are so cohesive,” Cruz said. “They genuinely love whatever sport it is that they’re playing and want to be out there. They want it to be them when the game’s on the line and it’s not just one person who feels that way.”
So what about a three-peat, coach? Cruz just laughs when that topic arises.
“I haven’t had anyone bring that up yet,” she said. “But, yeah, of course we have a shot at it. The girls who didn’t play quite as much and the incoming freshmen are excited for their turn. Girls arrive wanting to be part of our culture and to have the work ethic that’s made us successful.”
Tris Wykes can be reached at twykes@vnews.com or 603-727-3227.