Freedom’s March

The 2016 Falcons celebrate the end to their season-long journey after winning the NCS Div. I final. (Dennis Lee photo)

“It’s just a very special group. It’s one of the best groups I’ve ever been able to coach,” Russo says. “As a group, they drew really close because of what happened, and they’re a mature bunch. When they show up, it’s not to fool around. They show up to go to work, and that translates onto the field when it’s time to play.”

Russo’s own journey in the days since the Lunger tragedy have entailed their own unique challenges. A former youth coach, Russo said Lunger’s friendship and influence were essential in helping him get there. He was a member of Lunger’s wedding party.

“Personally, as a coach, it’s been very, very tough,” he says. “Something comes up, or something happens that we normally would discuss, I always want to pick up the phone and reach out to him. We still just kind of go one day at a time with it. But the girls know the best way to honor him is to play the way they play.”

The truth for the Falcons also is this: They can win a game many ways.

“All we need is a spark,” senior Marissa Gonzales said. “Once we get a spark, then we rally. A lot of times it happens at the end.”

So it was in the NCS title game. Freedom broke a scoreless deadlock in the eighth inning of that contest when Allyson Ferreira doubled in Mackinsey Nelson for the run that gave the Falcons their first NCS crown since 2008. Nelson pinch ran for Kalissa Heihn, who’d opened the eighth inning with a single.

“We won a lot of games like that,” Russo says. “Our pitching and defense are going to keep us in the game, and then we seem to get timely hitting.”

Freedom has no shortage of offensive weapons. Derby led the Bay Valley Athletic League with five home runs and 23 RBIs a season ago, and she has clubbed eight with 44 RBIs over the past two seasons.

Allyson McBroom connects with a pitch during the NCS Div. I championship game. (Dennis Lee photo)

The job she’s done defensively behind the dish hasn’t gone unnoticed, either. She’s worked with Strong for the past three seasons, handles all six of Strong’s pitches — peel drop (fastball), drop, a rise, a curve, a screwball/drop and change-up — with equal aplomb.

Allyson McBroom had a team-best 27 hits and batted .409. She scored 13 runs and drove in another 15. A first baseman, shortstop and catcher, McBroom didn’t make an error all last season in 102 chances.

Then there’s Allyson Ferreira, who contributed 24 hits, 12 RBIs and 13 runs. She hit .358 in 73 plate appearances and has 41 hits and a .369 average in two varsity seasons. Senior infielder Bri Ibarra provided 21 hits with 12 runs scored and 12 driven in.

Gonzales, a senior, had 26 hits last season, and her .433 average was a  201-point improvement from her cumulative mark over her first two season.

Not to be overlooked, Strong hit .423 with four doubles and 13 RBIs, too.

If the offense doesn’t click right away and hitters make contact against Strong, Freedom’s defense is just as capable of winning games.

“We don’t make errors,” McBroom says. “And we have pretty good range.”

In other words, Freedom can win a game a lot of ways. In the end, however, Strong is the heart that pumps the blood. Which is the way she’s always wanted it, ever since she was 6 and Rhoads, a former Antioch High star, gave Strong her first lesson.

“I loved being in control and being involved in every play,” Strong says. “I loved being able to have a big role in my team winning. I still love it.”

The velocity of Strong’s pitches, not to mention the variety of them, are impressive weapons to begin with, but her teammates and coaches say they aren’t her biggest strengths.

Strong agrees.

“It’s my focus and demeanor,” she says. “If I give up a hit or something goes wrong, I have to keep it together, because the team is looking for that. If I keep it together, than we’ll keep it together.”

Says Russo: “The girls take their cue from her. And she’s just so steady. It’s hard to beat that.”

In 2017, it figures only to be harder.