Gibsonburg softball coach Kyle Leatherman pretty much speaks for all coaches when he discusses putting freshmen into the varsity lineup to start a season.

“My expectations for a freshman are, like any player they have ups and downs but they have to work through more down periods than anything,” Leatherman said. “As they grow and mature, their down periods grow shorter and fewer between.”

The 2011 softball season was a productive one for several area freshmen, including Gibsonburg's Filomena Mendoza. The Golden Bears' designated player was one of four freshmen to be voted to the Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press second team this year.

Clay freshman Brooke Gallaher (press photo by Scott Grau)

The other three were Woodmore pitcher Madeline Phillips, Eastwood third baseman Cassidy Rolf and Clay pitcher Brooke Gallaher.

Mendoza was a second-team All-Suburban Lakes League and All-Press selection despite her team finishing with a 4-16 record. She batted fourth or fifth in the lineup all season.

“I figured it was going to take her some time to get going,” Leatherman said. “She really turned it on the last half of the season as we got to play a few more games in consecutive days. She became more of a tougher out.”

Mendoza batted .418, which was second on the team behind junior center fielder Brittany Potts (.467). She also scored 12 runs, led the Bears with 17 RBI and added one home run, a grand slam against visiting Clyde.

“She hit a hot streak and just kind of rode that to the end of the season,” Leatherman said. “I was pleasantly surprised. As freshmen come in, you're in the air how they'll perform. They're usually going to make mistakes. Filomena battled some of her struggles early in the season and was a hitter that teams had to pay attention to at the end of the year.”

Leatherman said Mendoza is playing for the 14-and-under SGS Magic, a Toledo-based travel team, as a second baseman/third baseman this summer.

“She'll have an opportunity to play some second and third base for us next year,” Leatherman said. “Whatever's best for our team. She's capable of playing multiple positions.”

Eastwood softball coach Joe Wyant saw the good and not so good from freshman third baseman Cassidy Rolf early in the season. It didn't take long for Rolf to show that she belonged on the Eagles' varsity squad.

“You don't find a lot of freshmen who are as mature and capable as she is,” said Wyant, who has been a head coach for 13 years. “I had patience with her and she had some growing pains like else anybody starting out. She made a few errors early and settled down and played very well defensively the last two-thirds of the season.”

Rolf batted .366 with 18 runs, 23 RBI, 12 doubles, one triple and one home run. She also had a .948 fielding percentage en route to earning second-team All-SLL and all-district honors.

“She hit consistently pretty much all year,” Wyant said. “The last two weeks she finished really strong. She played on a very good summer team last year and again this year. She plays a lot of ball. She's very athletic and she's a three-sport athlete. She tells me softball is her favorite sport, which I'm grateful for.”

Rolf is playing for the Wizard Elite, a 14-and-under travel team out of Toledo, this summer.

“She's developed a lot in the last year by playing as much as she has,” Wyant said. “If she keeps going the way she is, she has the potential to be one of the best I've ever coached.”

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