Havenwood Girls Bring The 'Heat,' Overcome Crofton 13-8

By Colin Murphy

On May 2, a tremendous come-from-behind effort powered the 12U Havenwood Heat softball team to a 13-8 victory over the Crofton “Back in Black” at Havenwood Field across from George Fox Middle School. Erasing a five-run deficit, the Heat saw contributions from every girl on the squad, furthering the improvement they have experienced this season both at the plate and in the field.

“They all have the skills,” said Head Coach Carl Weisgerber of his club, “and [against Crofton] by the end of the game we put it all together, the girls played their best and we won it in the end.”

Down 5-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, Katelyn Watson led off with a base hit and was followed by a walk by Kym Calderone. Consecutive base hits by Kristen Brass, Mandy DeAngelis and Lexi Sickler put the Heat on the board, and the team capped the scoring rally with walks by Samantha Young and Julia Sykes, who eventually scored to tie the game at five.

“We’ve improved our batting,” said DeAngelis, who noted the team has bonded more and more as the season has progressed. “My favorite thing about this team is being with my friends and having fun.”

In the fifth inning, a walk by Lexi Weisgerber led off another rally, as base hits by Jordan Bowers and Brittany Easter pushed the Heat to a 7-5 lead. Walks by Shianne Trout and Cailey Smith gave Havenwood two more base-runners who eventually scored, and the Heat led 10-5 after five innings.

Walks by Karly Maroney and Calderone combined with base hits off the bats of Brass and DeAngelis closed out Havenwood’s scoring and extended the lead to 13-5 after six innings. Crofton tried to rally in the seventh, but fell short after scoring three runs, and the Havenwood girls completed the comeback for the 13-8 victory.

“Their batting has really, really improved,” said Coach Weisgerber of his team’s progress. “We’ve run into a couple tough teams, but the girls keep their heads up.”

The Heat’s offensive surge continued a week later against the Green Hornets of Severna Park, as base hits by Taylor Compton, Kayla Dize (two), DeAngelis (three), Easter, Sykes, Maroney, Weisgerber (two), Brass, Calderone, and Watson; and walks by Bowers, Sickler, and Young (two) combined for a total of twelve runs. Coach Weisgerber attributes the team’s offensive progress and overall improvement to their collective approach.

“The best part about this team is their attitude,” said Coach Weisgerber. “Everybody’s had a positive attitude, showed respect to each other, to the umpires, and to the coaches. We’ve improved, and they’re going to do well during the end of the year,” he concluded.