The Solanco softball team is saying goodbye to three seniors – Maribeth Ault, Madi Sheaffer, and Makayla Pluck. Each player started this spring as the Mules finished 12-7 and captured the Section Two title. Solanco’s last two losses came to district champions, Donegal in the first round of the Lancaster-Lebanon League and Lower Dauphin in the opening round of the district playoffs. Ault was a four-year starter at shortstop and the Mules were 59-25 with two section titles in that stretch. "Maribeth came in as a starter as a freshman and matured and developed into the position," coach Brett Miller said. "As a freshman you're a role player and Maribeth was a critical role player as the shortstop. You just need to make the plays on defense and let the other players perform. She made the transition and had a terrific offensive year as a junior and had a productive year as a senior."
Ault combined with Sheaffer, a three-year starter at second base, to provide the Mules with stability up the middle. “Madi batted over .300 this year and had 14 sacrifices which shows what kind of team player she was," said Miller. "She did a terrific job for her career." Pluck spent her first three seasons on JV before taking advantage of her lone varsity season. "That speaks to her character," said Miller. "Makayla played a real good right field and batted .268 to be a major contributor on offense. That's the kind of effort that allows section titles to be won." Despite the loss of three key players, a strong nucleus will return next season. "It's a similar situation to what we had in 2013 where we had quite a few juniors. This team scored more runs but had fewer RBIs. That team had a much higher batting average. We have work to do offensively. The batting average has to improve." The returning players will be pushed by some members of the undefeated JV team and Miller said the incoming freshmen class shows promise. "No one is given a position, but these players have the skillsets where it will be tough to move them out of the lineup," Miller said. SOLANCO STATISTICAL LEADERS Batting average - Madi Sheaffer .306, Abby Heidelbaugh .304, Bekah Borcky .296, Maribeth Ault .286, Makayla Pluck .268. Hits - Ault 16, Borcky 16, Sheaffer 15, Pluck 15, Heidelbaugh 14, Kalyn Burger 14. RBIs - Ault 18, Borcky 17, Heidelbaugh 13, Sheaffer 12, Pluck 11. Home runs - Heidelbaugh 2, Pluck 2, Borcky 2, Leila Redmond 2, Sheaffer 1, Sydney Sturgill 1 Runs scored - Heidelbaugh 30, Ault 16, Sturgill 15, Borcky 15, Sheaffer 15, Pluck 14, Redmond 12 Triples - Sheaffer 3, Heidelbaugh 2 Doubles - Ault 5, Burger 4, Heidelbaugh 3, Cait Armstrong 2, Redmond 2 Walks - Heidelbaugh 18, Redmond 12, Sturgill 11, Ault 10 Sacrifices - Sheaffer 14 Wins - Burger 11, Sheaffer 1 ERA - Burger 1.87 Innings pitched - Burger 116 1/3 Strikeouts - Burger 46 Comments are closed.
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