Staff Report
The Absegami High softball team had one of its best seasons ever this spring, posting 21 wins, capturing the Cape-Atlantic League National Conference crown with an undefeated 12-0 mark, and making it all the way to the South Jersey Group 3 semifinals before a tough loss on the road at Clearview Regional.
If success starts at the top in high school softball, look no further than leadoff batter Sarah Czeslaw as one of the major reasons the Braves did so well this season.
The senior was an outstanding defensive center fielder with speed, instincts and a good throwing arm, but at the plate is where she really shined. She had the best season of her career this spring — and that’s saying something, considering she had 29 hits and 17 RBIs as a sophomore and then hit .400 as a junior.
This season, Czeslaw was an incredible leadoff hitter for the Braves, getting on base 40 percent of the time while hitting .356 and adding a .544 slugging percentage. She had 10 multi-hit games and scored multiple runs on 10 occasions.
Czeslaw did it all, too. She got on base, stole bases (7 steals), hit for power (5 doubles, 4 HR), scored runs (28) and drove them in as well (26 RBIs). She had 32 hits in 90 at-bats, giving her 101 knocks to finish out her career.
Her final numbers are certainly ones that may get her consideration for the school’s sports hall of fame down the road. In nearly 300 at-bats she hit .341, had a .510 slugging percentage and finished with 101 hits — including 19 doubles, five triples and seven home runs — and 116 runs, 61 RBIs, 52 walks and an eye-popping 71 stolen bases. She also showed massive improvement in her four years — she started her career with just 14 hits as a freshman, but then hit .367 as a sophomore, .400 as a junior and .356 as a senior.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
