The Lady Falcons opened the 2023 softball season with a win and finished it with a win. Between those wins there were a lot of struggles leading to a 2-18 season. Understanding though that Salisbury came into the season with just one seniorand several players who were inexperienced not just in varsity ball, but in having played much softball, puts the season into perspective.

An issue for Salisbury throughout the season was defense. The team struggled to make plays, leading to unearned runs and opportunities for opposing teams.

Pitcher Beth Carney pitched well, but struggled with an ankle injury throughout the season that caused her to miss five games. She fi nished off her season with a gem against Central Catholic, throwing seven innings and allowing just one earned run in a 5-1 win for Salisbury.

Unfortunately, Carney’s injury exposed an issue in that the team had no other viable pitchers.

On the bright side, players did step up to give it a shot and received on the job training, but it hurt Salisbury’s chances of adding to their win totals. Junior Bailee Neitz, sophomore Zaira Stokes and Jaylene Vazquez, a freshman, all took shots at pitching for Salisbury and now have at least some experience to build upon.

Offensively, Carney was also a leader, batting primarily out of the leadoff spot for Salisbury. On the season, Carney hit .543 for the Falcons, providing a table setter for the team. The team averaged just over two runs per game, but again, youth and inexperience caused issues at the plate.

Many of the Salisbury players are heading into playing club ball during the offseason and will develop more skills as they gain experience. The bottom line is that as the team continues to develop, there are better times ahead for Salisbury. To show just how young the team was in 2023, this year’s roster had just five juniors to go with seven sophomores and three freshmen.

“Half of our players are going on to play summer ball and then some of them even play tournament ball as well, so that’s going to help their development,” said head coach Jane Brennan.

A key for Salisbury is that even through the struggles, the team kept a good, solid attitude and developed as the season went on.

“We had a girl who was cleared very late in the season and put on her uniform and came out to play in the final two games,” said Brennan. “That shows that they want to play, and they want to learn, because she could have just sat out the final two games, but she wanted to be out there. They all have a great spirit and great attitude toward the team and the game.”