By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
On X @GDsullysays
When it comes to South Jersey softball pitching, there are some very recognizable names out there. Madison Dollard has been incredible for Egg Harbor Township, posting an ERA below 1.00 in more than 400 career innings while striking out 621 batters, and Haddon Heights junior Sophia Bordi is one of the top players in the nation and a University of Oklahoma recruit. She’s fanned more than 600 batters as well, and her career ERA is a miniscule 0.52 in more than 250 innings.
Moorestown’s Violet Marta has nearly 500 strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA in 365 innings.
You can add Eastern Regional junior Sami Wakeley to the list.
Wakeley’s star is rising quickly, as evidenced by not only her last couple outings, but also a junior season in which she has seemed to figure it out and been absolutely dominant.
As a freshman, Wakeley had a pretty good season, fanning 151 batters while posting a 2.84 ERA. Last year she suffered through a little bit of a sophomore slump — if you can even call it that — as her ERA crept up to 3.14 and she allowed more hits than innings pitched.
But this year, Wakeley has been unstoppable. In 75 innings she’s allowed just 37 hits and five earned runs while striking out 179 and walking just 19 batters. That’s a 0.47 ERA. Folks, those are video game numbers.
Want to be even more impressed? She has struck out double-digit batters in every outing this year, has posted an 11-1 record, and allowed more than two runs on just one occasion — a 4-3 loss to Paul VI. In that game, she struck out 21 batters, and in the next, a gritty 1-0, extra-innings win over Lenape on Friday afternoon, Wakeley struck out 20 batters and only one hitter put a ball into fair territory through the first five innings.
She’s not even a senior yet and she’s already set school records for strikeouts in a single game, single season and career. A lot of credit has to go to her catcher, Jenna Haas, a seasoned senior who does a great job framing Wakeley’s pitches and keeping her focused and on track throughout the course of the game.
Vikings coach Rich Gilmore was nearly at a loss for words after Friday’s performance, yet at the same time was eager to try to convey what Wakeley has meant to his team’s success this season.
Said Gilmore, “I don’t want her to ever take offense when I say this about her, but she’s a bulldog (inside the circle). She’s such a competitor. She’s trusting what I’m calling, she’s working hard, and I don’t think she fears anybody — she just gets out there and does what she does. She’s been pitching with me as a freshman and she had a bunch of strikeouts that year. Last year was down a little bit, which usually happens with sophomores, but she got in the weight room, got stronger and she has tons of confidence right now. And I think having Jenna behind the plate really builds her confidence. They talk about what’s working, what’s not working. They have a lot of good communication.”
Offensively, Eastern is hitting .376 with 84 runs scored in 11 games. With Wakeley pitching the way she is, that’s going to make the Vikings a tough team to beat in the postseason.
