Kim Scarsella
This recognition is shared with Camille Gaito. Both Gaito and Scarsella are outstanding softball pitchers who honed their craft playing for Marin Girls Softball teams. Pitching success is often viewed as an individual achievement, but no pitcher succeeds without the offensive and defensive support of her teammates. Consequently, this recognition is not just for the pitcher but for her team as well.
This is the salute to Kim Scarsella and the Tamalpais, California, High School Hawks. The salute to Camille Gaito and the University of California at San Diego Tritons is here.
SportsDashboards saluted Scarsellaat midseason for a pair of outstanding pitching performances, including a 17-strikeout game. As good as she was in the regular season, she rose to new heights during an improbable postseason run that resulted in her being named to the Cal-Hi all-California medium schools team.
How good was Scarsella’s postseason? Consider that all-California honor. She was one of only two sophomores named to the 30-player team. Cal-Hi, which is an arm of ESPN, stretched to name her to the team as an infielder. Now there’s a tribute! Not only did they cite her as a rare underclassman, but they fudged her position to accommodate her.
The short version of Tamalpais’ postseason reads this way: Starting as the third seed, they reached the finals of the Marin County Athletic League tournament. Starting as the seventh seed, they reached the finals of the North Coast regional tournament.
To undersand the magnitude of their success, you need to know that this is a team that consists of only 10 players. Most of them learned the sport while playing for Marin Girls Softball teams. It speaks well of the MGS program that their graduates were able to achieve at such a high level. Four of them earned all-MCAL honors: Scarsella and Stephanie Lee were named to the first team, Olivia Trombadore was named to the second team and Emily Banks was named to the third team.
The other members of the Hawks were Billie Mandlebaum, Noelle Erskine, Jenna Szabo, Katie Gough, Julia Dedona, and Darcy Ritchie. Banks led the team in batting with a .366 average. Scarsella had the highest slugging percentage. Lee led the team in runs batted in. Erskine was flawless in the field.
In the MCAL playoffs, Tam opened with a 10-2 win over Marin Catholic. Trombadore was the starting pitcher. Lee drove in five runs and Banks knocked in a pair. That earned the Hawks a semi-final tilt with San Marin, the second seed. Scarsella pitched the 2-0 shutout, allowing only 2 hits.
The championship game pitted the Hawks against the Redwood Giants. The Giants represent a larger school and were the defending champions. Redwood got three unearned runs in the first inning against Scarsella and hung on for a 3-0 win and their fifth consecutive softball title.
In California, there is no state championship in softball. Each region sets up its own regional tournament. The North Coast section sets up five brackets that reflect the enrollment of the schools. Tamalpais was awarded a berth in the Division III tourney, seeded seventh.
The Hawks opened with a 3-2 extra inning win over tenth-seeded Drake. Scarsella got the win in relief of Trombadore, who scored the winning run on a hit by Lee.
That pitted the Hawks against powerhouse Moreau Catholic, the second seed. Scarsella threw a two-hit shutout in route to a 5-0 win. Banks, Erskine and Lee each got two hits. Hawks assistant coach Jenna Joyner told the Marin Independent Journal that catcher Lee “called the best game I’ve ever seen her call.”
In the semifinals, the Hawks faced Analy, a team that had defeated them 1-0 early in the season. This time they reversed the decision, winning 4-0. Banks and Lee each drove in two runs and Scarsella limited Analy to one hit.
The North Coast final had a familiar ring to it … the Hawks were facing another defending champion — this time it was Bishop O’Dowd. Scarsella continued to top herself, throwing a no-hitter. But walks and errors undid the effort. An unearned run in the fifth inning broke the scoreless tie and two more unearned runs crossed the plate in the sixth to account for the final score of 3-0.
All 10 Hawks players return for the 2011 season, so Tamalpais can look forward to another successful season.
Hey! Why isn’t a player from our organization recognized?
Everyone who participates in youth sports is eligible for recognition. It happens that this year we recognized two graduates of such a program. We love to recognize achievement, either for a single game or a season. The player can be either a current participant in your program, or a past participant. Just send us the details.
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Tags: Kim Scarsella, Tamalpais
