Fronczak, Plimpton spark South softball to 6-0 start

Williamsville South senior catcher and tri-captain Lisa Fronczak has provided the offense for the Lady Billies, who have started the 2007 season 6-0.

Fronczak, an All-ECIC First Team as a sophomore and junior, is putting up All-Western New York numbers. Fronczak currently has eight hits in 16 at-bats for a .500 average and has played flawless behind the plate.

While Fronczak has supplied the offense, senior tri-captain Chelsea Plimpton has been leading the defense. The two-time All-American and reigning New York State Class "A" Player of the Year has been outstanding on the mound. In six games, she's 6-0, thrown four shutouts and 90 strikeouts for an average of 15 per game. She's also recorded games of 18 and 19 strikeouts.

Other top offensive players during the team's great start has been junior tri-captain Lauren Falzone, a returning All-ECIC First Team player with seven hits in 20 at-bats for a .356 average, Carolyn Schaus at .388 (7 for 18), and Sam Strapason at .333.

South opened the week with an 8-0 win over Williamsville East on Monday, April 23. The Lady Billies recorded 11 hits.

Fronczak led the South batters with a 3 for 4 day, including a monster three-run home run in a six-run third inning that also plated Falzone, who singled, and Gerlach, who reached base on an error. A Strapason double plated two additional runs. Strapason scored on an error.

Schaus added a long home run in the fifth.

Falzone led off the game with a single, followed by a Gerlach sacrifice that moved Falzone to second base. A Plimpton RBI single plated Falzone. East pitcher Kelly Rusin retired the next three batters in the second. She scattered only two hits and struck out two over the last three innings.

Plimpton struck out the first 12 batters and finished with 19. She tossed a one-hitter. Bridget Steele tripled in the top of the fourth for East's only hit. Jessica Windnagle walked.

"We did not play good defense against a team we needed to have a perfect game," said East coach Ron Schumacher.

South's second game of the week was on Tuesday, April 24 and for first place in ECIC Division III with 3-0 Iroquois. The Lady Billies recorded its 51st straight league game win with a 1-0 victory.

In the fourth, Strapason doubled over the Iroquois center fielder's head to score Schaus from first for the only run of the game. Additional hits were recorded by Falzone and Stephanie Shahin.

Plimpton fired a one-hitter and struck out 12.

South has league games with Amherst, Iroquois and West Seneca East this week before heading to the Depew Tournament on Saturday where they have won the last four years.

East's other game played last week was a 13-5 loss on Friday against West Seneca East. The Lady Flames scored in the bottom of the first when Steele, led off with a walk, Rachelle Arenos sacrificed her to second and Taylor Klun singled her home.

West Seneca East scored three runs in the top of the third on a combination of three hits, a walk, and an error. Two more runs were scored in the top of the fifth. Rusin replaced starting pitcher Karen Kingsley in the top of the sixth but West Seneca East hit off her badly and combined with three errors in the field, allowed six runs to score.

East tried to rally in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman Kelly McNamara walked and Chelsea Horner tripled her home. A Rusin ground out to second scored Horner. Kingsley singled and advanced to third on Steele's single. Arenos then singled home Kingsley and Steele.

With Rusin struggling at the plate, Kingsley returned to the mound in the seventh but West Seneca East added two insurance runs.

East (1-3, 2-3) plays a double header at Amherst starting at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, May 2.