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SPRING SPORTS: NEWARK VALLEY SOFTBALL STANDOUT WAS HOPING TO CATCH A CHAMPIONSHIP (2020-04-11)

BY TIM TAYLOR
Tioga County Sports Report
NEWARK VALLEY — This was looking like the season Newark Valley might make its mark on the softball diamond.

The Cardinals were coming off a 10-8 season, quite a turnaround from their 4-12 campaign in 2018. Notre Dame was looking to recover from the unsettling resignation of longtime coach Steve Weber and Waverly needed to regroup following the graduation of Wendi Hammond, the standout pitcher who headed off to play Division I ball.

Meanwhile, NV was boasting five senior returnees — catcher Marissa Berghorn, pitcher Cassidy Hoffmier, first baseman / outfielder Sarah Mertson, second baseman April Simmons and centerfielder Jordan Stiffarm, as well as a solid junior in shortstop Allie Wandell.

Berghorn and Hoffmier got a taste of varsity ball as eighth-graders, but have been the NV battery since ninth grade. Hoffmier shared the circle for a few games last year due to arm soreness. Berghorn, who missed just one game, as a freshman, had high hopes for the Cardinals this spring.

"This year we were expected to be strong even though we were moving up to Class B," she said. "We didn’t lose any key players, so we have the same team as last year. We all were practicing hard and were excited to play together. Our outfield had improved as well as our hitting, which was our weakness last year."

Waverly and ND landed six IAC all-stars apiece last season. However, the Wolverines' battery and their top outfielder graduated while the Crusaders' lost their pitcher and first baseman. Meanwhile, Newark Valley returned all four all-stars in first-team selections Berghorn and Wandell, and honorable mentions Hoffmier and Wandell.

Berghorn had also been working hard to make her final season a successful one.

"I was really looking forward to this softball season," she said. "My friend Cassidy Hoffmier and I worked super hard all winter so we would be prepared for this season, but unfortunately Covid-19 took it all away before we even had the chance to say goodbye.

"I have been working out and going down to the field every day to practice hitting and make sure I keep any rust off to get right back into it in case the season comes back.

"This year, I was looking forward to hitting as I had a great season last year. I was in the gym every day from November to March to get stronger so I could have more powerful hits and have a stronger arm to throw more people out. This season I was just looking forward to putting everything out there even more than I have because this was the last time I would ever strap on my gear or go out on that field. 

Berghorn, who along with Hoffmier will be playing field hockey at Nazareth College, realizes NV's 2020 season may never come to fruition.

"I am hoping that the spring season will continue, however I am doubtful that it will," she said. "I am heartbroken about it because not only was I going to be even better this year, my team was looking good and put together. It would have been an amazing season this year and we could have gone far.

"Cassidy and I have been playing together since we were little and this was the year that we finish it off as a pitcher-catcher pair. This was my last year to take the field and play fast pitch softball. I wish we had at least got a couple games in so it wasn’t taken away completely."

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IN PHOTO: NV catcher Marissa Berghorn putting the tag on a Dryden base runner. ... TCSR STOCK PHOTO.

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