Cynthia Lopez and Diego Libanori saw something special in this group of Kearny Recreation softball players at a time when few could have seen it.
“I would say (we saw it) two years ago at 12U. They were losing games 19-0, but we both knew that they were a great bunch,” said Lopez, head coach of Kearny Recreation’s 14U team. “They never gave up. They loved the game. It didn’t matter if they were losing 19-0, they never gave up. It was always a 0-0 game for them.”
Two years later, on the 14U level, these same girls did what previously seemed unthinkable. On June 27, Kearny won the Little League Softball District 5 championship when it defeated Hasbrouck Heights, 3-1, in the title game in Wood-Ridge.
Kearny Recreation’s season ended a week later when it fell 4-1 to Teaneck in the Section 2 finals in Little Ferry, but not before finishing an incredible 16-4-1 overall.
In addition, 13 of the 14 girls on the team were also a part of Lincoln Middle School’s
“I’m extremely proud of these girls,” Lopez said. “I knew they were going to do it. I knew since the beginning of the season. But it was great knowing that these girls made history in Kearny.”
A big part of the turnaround was starting pitcher Abigail Buchanan, who starred in the circle and was a big bat in the middle of Kearny’s lineup.
“She’s our MVP for this year,” said Libanori. “She grew so much from last year to this year. She did an amazing job.”
Dakota Murphy, one of three seventh graders on the roster along with Lexi Duarte and Brielle Mora also saw time in the circle for Kearny.
Nicoly Libanori was the starting catcher with Duate also seeing some time behind the plate. Whichever one wasn’t catching would start in center field. Libanori was second on the team with 31 RBI on the season, a total boosted by Duarte’s ability to get on base from the second spot in the lineup.
Gabriella Martinez led the team in RBI with 33 and started at first base for Kearny. Kaelyn Carlent started at second base and Ryleigh Chesney and Mora shared the starting shortstop position. Murphy was the primary third baseman and when she was pitching, Buchanan would take over at third.
Mora, a seventh grader and the team’s leadoff hitter saw extensive time in the outfield as well. Kearny did plenty of mixing and matchup in the corner outfield spots with Mora, Mia Castro and Joelyz Rosado sharing left field, while Emily Dabrowski, Luna Santos and Bella Antunes split time in right.
Reflecting back on what made this team special, Libanori cited the way this group played together.
Most of this group will be heading to high school next year. And whether it’s at the high school level or back at recreation, it’s a group that Lopez and Libanori believe will continue to do great things.
“It was a great feeling to see what they accomplished this year,” Lopez said. “Two years ago, once they saw the score going up (against them) it got in their heads, but they didn’t let it bring down their morale. And it shows with the success of this year.”
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)