The Wahconah Girl’s 2022-23 varsity softball season has held a lot of promise. Coming off of a 23-3 record last year – and a run to the semifinals in the Division IV State Tournament, this year’s team had big goals. Seniors Avery Vale-Cruz, Emma Belcher, and Taylar Hickey looked to join juniors Dani Barry and Elena Iovieno in making a splash this season

Unfortunately, injuries derailed their plans before the season began. Rhode Island commit Vale-Cruz and senior Hannah Friedman were both sidelined by injuries before playing an inning. Despite a deep bench, head coach Dustin Belcher was going to be hard-pressed replacing Vale-Cruz’s .596 batting average and 38 RBIs from last year. It was going to be almost impossible finding someone to replicate Vale-Cruz’s 1.31 ERA and 135 strikeouts in just 48 innings on the mound. Hickey and senior Casey Wilson were to fill that void.

This year’s team started out red-hot, winning 4 out of their first 5 games including 2 shutouts against Mohawk Trail Regional School and Pioneer Valley Regional School. The offense was clicking, scoring 73 runs in those games. The Warriors, however, hit a rough patch in mid-April, dropping 4 straight games to Burlington High, Turners Falls High (in extra innings), Greenfield High, and Frontier Regional.

A big win against county rival Taconic High at home on April 26th started things moving in the right direction again. Unfortunately, uneven play saw the Warriors drop 4 of their next 6 contests.

Currently sitting at 7-9, the team has managed to win big and keep the score close in their losses. That means the Warriors are presently ranked 13th in the latest MIAA Division IV Power Rankings.

With 2 games left against Taconic High and Mount Greylock Regional, the Warriors can even their record and improve their position in the Power Rankings. They have the experience and players to make some real noise in the tournament this year. The future looks even brighter as the Warriors Junior Varsity team has been rolling, winning 11 of their 14 games.