Staff Report
Hammonton High traditionally has a competitive softball program, and don’t expect that to change anytime soon. Yes, the Blue Devils will be losing ace pitcher Gracie Ravenkamp after this season to graduation, but there are some young players in the “Blueberry Capital of the World” that softball fans should definitely be keeping their eyes on.
Freshmen Leah Alexander, the Devils’ starting third baseman, and second baseman Kamryn Barker have made quite an impact for Hammonton already, just four games into their varsity careers.
Alexander is lacing hits all over the field as she’s off to a .571 start, going 8-for-14 with seven runs scored, eight RBIs, four doubles, a stolen base and a slugging percentage up near .900. Barker has been nearly as good as the Devils’ leadoff hitter, going 5-for-16 with five runs scored and three RBIs.
“Our third basemen and second basemen are both freshmen, and we have a couple other freshmen who are pretty solid,” Hammonton coach Eric Shulman said following the Devils’ 4-3 loss to Absegami on Wednesday. “The nice thing about (Alexander and Barker) is they carry themselves like seniors in terms of their on-the-field and off-the-field maturity. They listen, they are coachable.”
Those two combined have nearly a third of the team’s RBIs this season, as they’ve racked up 11 of the team’s 34 runs batted in. They’ve also scored 12 of the team’s 40 runs and have hit more than half of the team’s extra-base hits. They are also solid defensively and run the bases well.
“We knew as a staff, after the first couple days of tryouts — their athletic ability stood out, and just the way they carry themselves, nothing seems to bother them,” Shulman said. “They never get too high or too low.”
The duo may not be able to keep up the pace of their torrid starts, but if the first week of their careers is any indication they’ll be anchoring Hammonton’s infield for years to come.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
