Medford Magic 14B Softball Team Undefeated in League
Medford Magic 14B Softball Team. Top Row: Coach Tim Flynn, Bailey Flynn, Julia Kearney, Coach Fred Popken, Jen Lee, Sarah Diettrich, Jess Popken, Brianna Napoleone, Head Coach Gino Napoleone. 2nd Row: Coach Curt Diettrich, Freddie Popken, Nina Forcellati, Sammy Calluti, Alex Bilodeau, Kelsey O’Keefe. Bottom Row: Samantha Kenney, Ricki Luongo. Photo courtesy Coach Curt Diettrich.
The Medford Magic 14U Softball Team concluded their season with an undefeated record of 14-0 at Columbus Park on Wednesday, August 10.
The 14B Magic Team was led to victory by the incredible leadership tandem all season of Brianna Napoleone pitching and Jess Popken catching. The supporting cast of 10 players played solid defense throughout the season and contributed consistently on offense with great hitting and smart base running.
“I am so very proud of all my girls for their hard work and dedication. They were by far the best and hardest working group of girls I have ever had the pleasure of coaching,” said Head Coach Gino Napoleone. “We practice harder and longer than anyone and they genuinely loved to come to practice. I had some girls that would commute from Maine on their vacation just to make sure they would not miss a practice. They all loved being together and they all just loved to come to practice and play the games.”
The Magic team scored a season total of 198 runs, while only giving up a mere total of 46 runs. The average score would be 14-3. They had an unprecedented season consisting of 3 shutouts. All of this came from a young team that had three 7th graders and four first year Middle Essex players that faced competition that was primarily 14-year-old 8th graders who were physically bigger and stronger.
The MiddleEssex Softball League is intended for girls considered to be advanced in skill level, and who love to play the game of Softball in a competitive environment.
Over the past few years, Medford has been participating in this league with more teams in each division and are starting to climb the charts with winning records in various divisions. A large part of that success is due to the overwhelming success of the MYGS (Medford Youth Girls Softball) Spring Program.
This summer season, Medford showcased several teams from 10U to 18U in the MiddleEssex League.
MYGS has been growing rapidly over the past 10 years and had approximately 300 girls participate this past Spring season.
The MYGS Spring Program is run solely by volunteers and open to all girls that either reside or go to school in Medford.
– Information from Coaches Napoleone and Diettrich
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congrats to this group of young ladies. it would have been nice if this team had open tryouts and only girls from medford had a chance to play. manager and coaches chose girls from out of town. if there is 300 girls in the in town program why do the coaches have to go out of medford to pick girls. food for thought.