Sophomores anchor SCCC 2018 softball team

NEWTON — Sussex County Community College's softball team this spring is freshmen-heavy, but it's two sophomores who are expected to be the anchors of the team.
The team, led by second year head coach AJ Agnor, acknowledges that the team is primarily made up of freshmen but he expects two players in particular to make a big impact this year.
When Agnor talks about the leaders, he is talking about sophomores Kelsy Conlon and Leah Struble.
Conlon, an outstanding defensive catcher from Blairstown, led all Division III backstops in runners caught stealing last year; and Struble, an infielder from Hardyston, will be used at either third base or shortstop and had an incredible season at the plate in 2017, hitting .500.
"Kelsy and Leah are key players for us," said Agnor. "We expect them to help us get to the next level."
Peyton Smith is also a player of interest for SCCC. She is the first international player in program history, coming from down under, Australia.
But Agnor is not just expecting good things from sophomores. He is very excited about a core group of freshmen in particular.
"Leah and Kelsy are definitely key players because of their college experience from last year, but we have some solid freshmen too," he said. Among them, Agnor noted, are Taylor Thieme, Amanda Maxwell, Kat Szaatkiewicz, and Nicole Matlock. "They are talented and capable of taking us to the next level as well," added Agnor.
These players, along with Agnor, will be looking to bounce back from a rough 2017. The Skylanders finished 6-18, but were able to keep games close and unfortunately had to forfeit games at the end of the season due to injuries on their small roster.
But Agnor isn’t dwelling on the past, but rather looking towards the future and has high hopes for 2018 and beyond.
“The main goal for this year is a berth in the Region 19 playoffs,” he said. “Plain and simple anything less than that would be disappointing. Overall though I feel I have put together a great group of girls. They have come together very well to this point and they are working really hard in practices. We want to be competitive in every game that we play, and turn around the perception of softball at Sussex.”
SCCC’s first home game of the season is scheduled for Sunday March 11th, 12 noon versus the SUNY Broome Hornets.
For more information about athletics at SCCC, visit www.sussexskylanders.com. For more about SCCC in general, go to <URL destination="http://www.sussex.edu. ">www.sussex.edu.