Softball: Sophomore pitching duo stars of the circle for Jupiter Warriors

RIVIERA BEACH — A road trip to Suncoast High saw Jupiter softball get back on track this week.

Sophomore pitching duo Sam Basen and Sasha Seidel dominated the circle for a 10-0 shutout on Wednesday.

Basen allowed just two hits and struck out five through three innings and contributed one run on one hit and two RBIs on offense. Seidel gave up one hit and struck out six through two innings, helping out the offense with an RBI double.

Basen, Seidel, and the Warriors (8-3) hope the dub will restart their win-streak, which was most recently snapped by Seminole Ridge ahead of spring break.

Here are three takeaways:

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Sophomores ‘feel like seniors’ in the circle

Jupiter fields three seniors and one junior. The rest of the 13-member roster consists of sophomores and a lone freshman.

"High school softball, especially freshman year, was a big jump, but it's fun," Seidel said.

Although the number of upperclassmen is limited, senior fielders Rylee Lewis, Emma Lucchesi, and Stella Fidanze have made an invaluable impact in the development of the youngsters helping the Warriors stay hot this spring.

"It's very entertaining to get to grow with them and compete with them at their level and be like one of the older girls," Basen added.

Early experiences proved to pay off when a ball fired off the bat and smacked Basen in the hand while she was attempting to make the out. Visibly unshaken, Basen returned to the circle and delivered the strikeout to end the inning. Then she started the fourth inning with a leadoff hit.

"It scared me a little bit, but I knew from playing high school ball that I needed to keep thinking to the next step," Basen said.

Offense still a work in progress

Lewis contributed two runs along with Sienna Rodriguez to support Wednesday's scoring leader London Gomes, who posted three on one hit, one RBI, and two base-on-balls.

Despite nine hits on the day and forcing a mercy ruling against the Chargers, Jupiter's offense is still working through some growing pains according to coach Steve Ahern.

"We're still trying to adjust the lineup to see what our best combinations are, but everybody's competing and working hard, so it'll work out," he said.

Eyes on districts and beyond

Recalling a 12-2 season opener loss to Seminole Ridge, Seidel is proud of how the Warriors have "bounced back," and ready for her team to face more battle-tested squads like Ridge and Wellington down the stretch so to get in prime postseason condition.

"We need to face competition − especially other pitchers − and I feel like we'll be prepared for districts," she said.

Palm Beach Gardens is the next crew on the schedule that Seidel knows will pose a challenge. She believes that Jupiter will be ready for the district championship rematch, and a victory would be a good indicator of whether the 2023 region runner-ups can achieve their goal of clinching a title this spring.

Win or lose, the young Warriors are excited for the lessons that'll come with the showdown on April 6.

Emilee Smarr is a sports reporter for the Palm Beach Post. She can be reached via email at esmarr@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Softball: Sophomore pitching duo stars of the circle for Jupiter Warriors