Will the real OHS please stand up?

Eight days after freshman pitcher Lesley Harlem threw the first opening-day no-hitter in OHS softball history, the Jackets got rocked, 20-1, in their first Southern Tier Athletic Conference game of the season.
The Daily Star Online
Star photo by Anita Briggs Oneonta High freshman Lesley Harlem threw a no-hitter in the Yellowjackets’ season opener against visiting Delhi on April 3. The second no-hitter in OHS softball history came exactly one year after the Jackets were no-hit by Maine-Endwell in their 2006 season opener.

Windsor’s thorough thumping of OHS served as a reminder, if nothing more, that the STAC is the cream of the crop when it comes to Section Four softball and beyond.

Geographically segregated from the rest of conference, Oneonta has always struggled to fit in with the traditional softball powerhouses from the Binghamton and Elmira areas.

"The pitching’s going to be a lot different as we hit these teams from Binghamton," first-year OHS coach Randy Brockway said after his team started the 2007 season with a 26-0 non-league rout of visiting Delhi. "We expect that and we know it’s coming. ... I know it’s a huge challenge. We just have to work hard, day-in and day-out."

Windsor illustrated just how hard Oneonta has to work to merely gain a measure of respect from the rest of the league this season.

The Jackets have fallen short of the .500 mark in each of the last five seasons, following a 7-7 mark in 2000 and an 8-8 record in 2001.

Coinciding with their return to the STAC in 2002, the former Susquenango Association-affiliate Jackets have gone a combined 20-65 over the last five years under former coach George Moussa. He capped his 11th season at OHS with a 2-15 finish in 2006.[an error occurred while processing this directive]

"We know Sus Valley’s going to be tough, and Maine-Endwell, and everybody in our division," Brockway said. "Chenango Forks and Chenango Valley _ heck all of them _ you can just keep going."

Oneonta certainly seemed ready to go against Delhi on April 3, complementing Harlem’s nine-strikeout, two-walk performance with 29 hits and an errorless outing in the field. Harlem’s no-hitter, the second in OHS softball history, came exactly one year after Oneonta got no-hit by visiting Maine-Endwell in the Jackets’ 2006 opener.

"I’ve only been pitching for three years, and I’ve just worked so hard in the offseason this year," said Harlem, whose older sister _ sophomore Madie _ starts at second base. "I’ve pitched a lot. I haven’t stopped pitching since last season. I pitch with Brockway in the gym, after basketball practice, before basketball games. There’s time before school and the games when I could be able to throw for 45 minutes and just pitch as much as possible.

"This year, I’ve just worked on the drop-ball," she continued. "I’ve just thrown it constantly, just getting the motion down and everything. It worked pretty good today."

Not so on April 11, when Windsor scored in every inning to knock Oneonta off its cloud. The Black Knights, who scored seven times in the fourth, amassed 15 hits against Harlem and Michelle Seeger, who took over in the seventh inning of the rout.

On the flip side, OHS committed more errors (five) than it had hits (three) against Windsor. Senior outfielder Melissa Blass accounted for Oneonta’s run with an RBI single in the second inning that cut the Jackets’ deficit to 3-1.

"I don’t think we have an easy game on the schedule, we really don’t," Brockway said. "There isn’t an easy game, and every game, we have to come ready to play."

The Harlem sisters are newcomers to an OHS squad led by seniors Brittany Quackenbush, Hanna Kirkpatrick, Amy DeAngelo and Ashley Dunn. Seeger, a junior, cracked the starting lineup on opening day as the flex player in right field. Sophomore Andrea Aikens batted for Seeger, in the No. 7 spot, and earned one of four four-hit performances for the Jackets against Delhi.

Shortstop Quackenbush and third baseman DeAngelo join Madie Harlem and first baseman Sarah Sprague on the dirt, which features Dunn behind the plate. Seeger is joined in the grass by speedy center fielder Kirkpatrick and Bridgette Aikens, Andrea’s sophomore twin who started ahead of Blass in left on April 3.

For Quackenbush, the goal for 2007 is clear.

"We want a winning season," Quackenbush said. "I hope teams are looking at us like the new Oneonta softball, not the old."

Windsor certainly didn’t do anything to help change that perception, however.

"We just have to keep working hard," Brockway said. "We’ve got to regroup and just keep pounding the fundamentals. That’s what we’ve been working on _ just make sure we’re solid defensively and, hopefully, our hitting will catch up eventually through the season."

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Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.

OHS Softball Records

2000 7-7

2001 8-8

2002 4-13

2003 3-13

2004 5-12

2005 6-12

2006 2-15