Isabella Buccheri has had plenty of hot streaks at the plate over the course of her softball career. Calling the current stretch for Buccheri a hot streak, undersells just what she’s been doing this season for North Arlington.
To put in perspective as to how hot Buccheri’s bat has been, she had two hits in each of the Vikings’ four games last week. Despite that, her batting average actually went down from .759 to .682.
“It’s crazy how much just natural ability and natural instincts she has when it comes to the game,” North Arlington head coach Emma Stagg said. “She’s definitely put in the work in the off season and it’s showing now. She’s been hot since we started and continues to stay hot.”
In addition to the eight hits, Buccheri had seven runs, six RBI, five stolen bases and two walks. It might not have been enough to keep Buccheri’s average over .700, but it was more than enough to make her The Observer Athlete of the Week.
This season, Buccheri has 30 hits, 20 RBI, 19 runs scored and 18 stolen bases with a slugging percentage of 1.068 in 13 games for the 7-6 Vikings.
The junior centerfielder has recorded two or more hits in 11 consecutive games, and 16 of her last 19 contests dating back to last year.
“This has been the first time I’ve had a hot streak like this,” Buccheri said. “For all the work I’ve been doing, I’m pretty happy with this result.
“I knew I was progressing and I was getting better because of all the work I was putting in, but it is also kind of surprising at the result, getting at least two or three hits a game, how consistently I was doing it. I was pretty surprised.”
Buccheri started playing softball at the age of 4. And while she played other sports growing up, including soccer, basketball, track and cheer, softball was always her main sport.
Buccheri had already established herself as one of the NJIC’s better hitters after batting .438 with 27 runs, 15 doubles and 22 stolen bases last spring as a sophomore. But over the offseason, she focused on improving her offensive game, first on the club softball circuit, then using video and countless swings off a tee.
That routine was especially helpful when the Vikings had a 12-day stretch without a game early in the season due to a senior trip. During that time, Buccheri spent hours on fields in town, working on her game.
“I was just so focused and consistent on my hitting and everything,” said Buccheri, who played for the Empire State Huskies, who are based out of East Fishkell, NY. “I would just be hitting off the tee almost every day, watching videos of myself and film. I was just trying to break everything down mechanically and really focus on that.”
After catching for North Arlington most of last season, Buccheri has primarily played centerfield this spring, which she feels allowed her to focus more on hitting than in the past.
Stagg also credits Buccheri’s improvements to a more patient approach at bat. A sentiment Buccheri shares.
“She’s more selective with her pitches. She’s not swinging at the first pitch as much as she used to in the past,” Stagg said. “She’s definitely seeing pitches, working the count and waiting for the one that likes the best.”
“This year, I think I have a better approach going to the plate, just waiting for my pitch and letting the count kind of get a little deeper instead of just being very jumpy,” Buccheri said. “My old approach was kinda just see ball, hit ball. But now I have a better approach.”
With that new approach and countless hours of offseason work, Buccheri entered the spring with a seemingly lofty goal of trying to get 100 hits before the end of her junior season. An incredible April has put her at 85 and counting, making the once ambitious goal feel imminent.
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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.)