The Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School softball team really opened the eyes of its opponents this season. The Raiders knocked off a number of tough teams, played in the Union County Tournament (UCT) Championship game and finished with an 189 record.

The Raiders opened their season with a 4-2 victory over theALJohnson (ALJ) Crusaders, who would go on to win the Central Jersey Group 2 crown, but dropped the next two – Elizabeth, South Plainfield (finished 21-5). Four straight wins – Summit (6-1), JP Stevens (13-2), Middlesex (12-8), Union Catholic (16-0) – upped the Raiders’ record to 5-2.

After falling to the Brearley Bears, 9-1, the Raiders reeled off four more victories – New Providence (10-5), Dayton Bulldogs (5-2), Union (100), defending three-time UCT champs Cranford Cougars (6-4). But a grueling 10-inning, 4-3 loss to the Westfield Blue Devils touched off a three-game losing streak – Summit (7-2), Union Catholic (2-1) – to slip the Raiders’ record to 9-6.

Recovering well, the Raiders topped Brearley, 4-2, Governor Livingston, 7-4 (finished 20-8) and Glen Ridge, 9-0. After topping Summit, 3-2, and GL, 5-0, in the UCT, the Raiders stopped Roselle Park, 6-1, then knocked off ALJ, 3-0, in the UCT semifinal to elevate their record to 16-6. The Raiders lost to Ridge, 60, then took it to the limit with the Dayton Bulldogs (finished 22-7) in the UCT title game only to lose, 6-5, after a solo blast in the bottom of the seventh inning.

A 10-0 shutout of JFK-Iselin in the regular season finale was followed with a 10-0 shutout over Union in the North Jersey, Section 2, Group 4 first round. Their season came to an end with a 4-1 setback to Westfield in the quarterfinal.

Offensively, juniorAngelinaValente led the team with a .427 batting average (BA) going 32-for-75 with 19 runs scored, 18 RBI, 10 doubles, a triple, two home runs and five walks. Freshman third baseman Maddie Bogart finished with a .415 BA (34-for-82) with 25 RBI (2nd on team), 16 runs, eight doubles, three home runs (1st), 10 walks, one hit by pitch and four stolen bases. Pitcher Olivia DiSalvo was also effective with the “metal stick” going 29-for-82 (.354 BA) with a teamleading 26 RBI, 11 runs scored, a double, two home runs, seven walks and was hit twice.

Junior catcher Sam Friscia finished with a .345 BA (30-for-87) with a team-leading 27 runs scored, 12 RBI, seven doubles, a triple, home run, nine walks, being hit once and four stolen bases. Freshman Harper Shimko went 22-for-69 (.319 BA) with 11 runs scored, seven RBI, four doubles, two triples, two walks, hit by pitch and a stolen base.

Sophomore shortstop Emily Roof finished 27-for-88 (.307 BA) with 20 runs scored, 11 RBI, four doubles, triple, two home runs, eight walks, hit by pitch and a stolen base. Senior Sairah Llano went 21-for-85 (.247 BA) with 15 RBI, three runs scored, three doubles, triple, home run and eight walks. Freshman Sarina Llano finished with 10 singles and a double, four runs scored, four RBI and five walks. Senior Julia Friedrichs contributed eight singles and three doubles, 12 runs scored, three RBI, 12 walks and a stolen base.

With limited time at the plate, freshman Natalie DiFabrizio had four singles and two doubles, with six runs scored, five RBI, two walks, hit once and a stolen base. Sophomore Kate Sullivan-Massa singled twice, tripled, scored seven runs, walked three times and was hit once. Senior Julia Tiedemann singled and walked once. Freshman courtesy runner Sam Marcolina scored six times, walked twice and stole two bases. Freshmen Lara Fox (2 walks) and Avery Fox each singled and had two RBI.

The Raiders went with four pitchers but DiSalvo was on the mound the most. In 94.1 innings, she allowed 82 hits, 30 runs (20 earned), 21 walks and 10 hit batters, while recording 144 strikeouts for a 1.48 ERA. Sairah Llano in 54.2 innings, yielded 51 hits, 26 runs (18 earned), four walks and three hit batters, while striking out 53 for a 2.30 ERA. Bogart in 22.1 innings, allowed 14 hits, 16 runs (11 earned), 19 walks and two hit batters, while striking out 23 for a 3.45 ERA. Roof in 13.1 innings, yielded 12 hits, 12 runs (6 earned) and five walks, while striking out 23 for a 3.15 ERA.

With an impressive season and a large number of impressive athletes returning, the Raiders have a great chance of looking impressive again next year.