Is it more important to have good young talent to build around for years or veteran experience?
Malverne softball coach Nick Moreno doesn’t have to weigh in on that debate. That’s because the Mules have both.
“We have a bunch of good young players we’re really excited about and we have returning seniors I know are going to definitely help out,” Moreno said. “We lost some important players last year, but some of the girls coming back are more than able to handle the load and work with the young girls and keep us competitive for the year.”
In senior shortstop Olivia Jenkins, Moreno has a potential all-county candidate who can hit, field, and provides valuable leadership alongside fellow captains Olivia Brown, the starting senior first baseman and cleanup hitter, and senior centerfielder Nathalie Uribe.
“These three girls together have been great leaders for the younger girls, and great for the girls who have come back,” Moreno said.
Moreno lauds Jenkins, who will play at Division II Clark Atlanta University, for teaching the younger players some of the fundamentals, like sliding. The same is true of Brown, “our best communicator on the field,” Moreno said.
Sophomore Keanna Burgess, who transferred in last year, is a solid catcher for Malverne, which opened the season with back-to-back losses but rebounded to beat Hempstead.
Senior third baseman Tatiana Betancur has shown vast improvement from last year, going 4-for-4 in the win over Hempstead, junior Brea Haye has shown her ability behind the plate, tagging a runner out at home in addition to some solid defensive play, and senior Kayleez Rosario, the starting right fielder, has also made strides.
Leading the youth movement are a pair of freshmen in pitcher Arya Roopnarine and second baseman/designated hitter Jolie Romero.
“Arya is playing like she’s a junior,” Moreno said. “And Jolie has a great swing, and we see her getting better and better as the years go on. She’s going to be an important part of the team for the future.”
Also seeing time at second base is sophomore Izabella Harichand, who Moreno thinks will make a huge impact this season, while senior Rihanna Rosario joins Roopnarine in the circle.
“Arya Roopnarine and Rihanna Rosario have both pitched great the first couple of games,” Moreno said. “We had a couple of setbacks first couple of games fielding, but these girls are good in that they work on their mistakes and they improve on them. They don't make the same mistake twice.”
The goal for Malverne, which went 13-3 a year ago, is to show improvement from the start of the season to the end.
“To get the nine position players better at their positions, make sure they’re able to hit — their timing is coming very quickly,” Moreno said. “The first game they had struggled with hitting and [against Hempstead] they had a ton of hits. We want to get a young team to improve with the veteran leadership that we have.”
