Eastern Tech Softball Gearing Up for Another Deep Playoff Run

Eastern Tech has become the gold standard for softball in Baltimore County.

Last week, the Mavericks defeated Lansdowne in the Baltimore County Championship 7-5 to claim their sixth straight county title. This year's group of seniors went undefeated in Baltimore County play throughout their four year varsity careers, amassing a record of 55-0.

"Every year we go through a plan together to not worry about the record, but to get better every day through practice and hard work," head coach Jack Meyers said. "We like talking to the kids about the games being a celebration of how hard they work in practice. The practices are for the coaches and the games are theirs, so let's make it fun and exciting."

This year's team has certainly been enjoying the games this season. Eastern Tech is 16-1, and has outscored its opponents 182-28. The team's lone loss was a 4-3 decision against C. Milton Wright on May 7.

This year's team has benefited from having a strong core of seniors who have produced for the Mavericks since they were freshmen.

Leading the way is first baseman Allison Meyers, who has registered 109 putouts while only committing one error. A first team All-County selection, Meyers has 28 RBI's and has hit five home runs.

Brooke Retkowski and Sara Ciekot join Allison Meyers this year in being named first team All-County. Retkowski, the team's second baseman, has 26 assists and 18 putouts this season and hasn't recorded an error. Ciekot has played a flawless third base all season, while also batting .470 with seven doubles.

The group is rounded out by catcher Sarah Heagy and left fielder Emma Lamartina. Heagy is batting .540 this season with three home runs, one of which came in the top of the 10th inning against Dulaney, which won the Mavericks that game. Lamartina has been a solid contributor throughout her four years at Eastern Tech, with Jack Meyers highlighting her passion and heart as being among the strongest on the team.

"All five girls have been on varsity all four years. We are going to miss them," Meyers said.

Looking ahead, the Mavericks are hoping to avoid the postseason they had last season. In 2015, Eastern Tech was upset in the 2A North regional final by Lansdowne. The loss snapped a 45 game win streak across all competitions, and ensured that Eastern Tech was not going to repeat as state champions.

Meyers said the team has tried to use that experience as a learning one. The group learned to not take any team lightly, and that they had to play with heart and passion in every game.

The approach should do wonders for the Mavericks over the next couple of weeks, as the team tries to get Eastern Tech back to the pinnacle of Maryland high school softball.

"To win the state title a lot has to go right for a team," Meyers said. "I think this year's team has a great chance to make a strong run. We, as a team, are going to try and do our best to achieve this difficult goal."