Every other week this softball season, Archbishop Molloy senior shortshop/pitcher Maria Palmeri will give us an inside look at her team’s quest for a second straight CHSAA state title. In her exclusive diary for NYPost.com, the four-year varsity player will chronicle the completion of her high school career before heading to C.W. Post to play softball next fall.
My last year, my last playoffs, and my last Brooklyn/Queens championship. I can't believe it's all about to end.
I wanted us to make my last year count, and so far, it's been more than memorable. This group of girls has been really great. If there is one thing that I can say about this year, it's that I definitely had fun. Of course it was a lot of work, but I don’t mind that part. I'm having a great time and at the end of the season, win or lose, I can leave happy and definitely hopeful for the team's continued success when I'm gone.
Robert Cole
Molloy's Maria Palmeri and her team are in the home stretch of the season with some hardware in mind.
My Senior Day showed me how much our team has come together. All the effort the underclassmen put in to make the day special showed us how much they cared for us. It also showed me how much we’ve grown as a family, sticking by each other and picking each other up when we’re feeling down. The sense of comfort that I get is amazing, and it’s exactly what a team should be all about.
Our diocesan semifinal game (a 1-0 win over Fontbonne in eight innings) further showed me what our team has become. I’ve never seen us more amped up and excited to be there. It was a scoreless, nerve-racking game, and I love how pumped up we were. It got me extremely excited for our next few games because I know the support is going to be there again. It’s what this sport is all about.
We’ve worked really hard all year to get to this position. We’ve overcome a lot, and worked to make the most with what we had available. Not having a true home field has always been a struggle. Finding a place to practice can be a big ordeal. Our game plan for the day has to be on point in order for it to be a productive practice. The weather also hasn’t cooperated much these past two weeks. We have had to reschedule Senior Day twice, and we almost had to postpone our semifinal game. Even on rainy days, we were determined to work out so we used our gym for the short time it was available.
It's all about dedication, and that dedication is what got us to this point. Not only has it been a physical struggle for us, it’s been a long internal and emotional fight as well, trying to finding ways to bring out all of our talents to use them in our game. It’s been a lot of hard work and a lot of emotional stress, but I think we’ve pulled all we can together to make this season count.
On Monday, we are heading back to the Brooklyn/Queens championship, where my team has been all four years that I played for Molloy. Funny that it’s also against the same team (St. Francis Prep) that we’ve played all four years. In the three previous years we have come out on top, and we are very hopeful to do the same this year. But win or lose, I know we’ve worked hard to get in a position that so many teams hope to get into every year. I'm proud of my team no matter how these next few games go, and I can guarantee we're going to put up a fight to make them count.
Check back with Maria Palmeri every other Thursday during the season. Her final diary will run May 31 if Molloy reaches the CHSAA state tournament.
Maria Palmeri, Maria Palmeri, Archbishop Molloy, CHSAA, St. Francis Prep, C.W. Post, semifinal game
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