Gianna Lembo has been pressed into a lead role on Lyndhurst’s softball team from the moment she arrived for her first practice as a freshman. It was a role that immediately put a lot of pressure on her shoulders as she was asked to lead a young Golden Bears team.
“Yeah, there was a lot of pressure, 100-percent. To be in the leadoff spot as a freshman and the starting catcher, there was a lot of pressure on me,” said Lembo. “I think I’ve done good with the expectations everyone had for me.”
On Tuesday, Lembo officially took her place among the most accomplished hitters in program history when she got her 100th career hit with a double to right field in her second at-bat.
For most of that time, Lembo has rarely felt nervous in the face of the pressure. The chase for 100 hits proved to be an exception.
“I was 100 percent nervous,” Lembo said. “I knew I was at 99 hits when I grounded out in my first at-bat. Then, in my second, I swung and missed and I just calmed myself down. I looked over and then got ready, hit the ball.”
Since then, Lembo has continued to hit, going 4-for-4 in Friday’s win at Wallington. Lembo’s milestone and subsequent hot streak makes her The Observer Athlete of the Week.
A strong performer for four years, Lembo is playing the best softball of her career in May, hitting .692 (9-for-13) with nine RBI, eight runs scored, seven stolen bases and four extra-base hits.
“I feel like going into (100 hits) it was stressful because you know how many you are away,” Lembo said. “Once it happened, I did feel like there was a weight lifted off my shoulders and now I could play more freely and enjoy the rest of my season.”
“We knew she had a goal and now she’s just going to keep collecting hits,” said head coach Diana Auteri. “She’s on fire. She’s feeling it and she’s confident.”
Auteri, a longtime Lyndhurst assistant, took over as head coach in 2023 with seven freshmen playing varsity. At the top of that class was Lembo, who immediately was asked to start at catcher and lead off.
While team success was limited early on, Lembo quickly showed she had star potential, hitting .368 as a freshman.
“I knew she was going to be a force to be reckoned with,” Auteri said. “She has so much talent. She leads the way and she’s been leading the way ever since the beginning.”
Lembo had solid sophomore and junior seasons, but this spring has elevated her game to a higher level as a senior.
Even with more than three weeks left in the season, Lembo has already set career-highs in virtually every statistical category, hitting .493 (33-for-67) with 27 runs, 17 RBI, seven triples, four doubles and 17 stolen bases.
Lembo’s play puts her within striking distance of Angela Downey’s school record for career hits with 118. With nine hits in her last three games, Lembo is now at 105 hits. But unlike the 100-hit chase, a possible pursuit of the school record is not putting extra pressure on Lembo’s mind.
“That’s definitely on my mind right now, but I’m not thinking too much into it because if it happens, it happens,” said Lembo. “It’s definitely a goal of mine, but if it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen.”
These next few weeks will be the last of Lembo’s softball career as she will be attending the University of Michigan where she intends to study Political Science with a pre law track.
“It’s definitely sad and bittersweet (knowing it’s almost over),” Lembo said. “These four years went really quick. I feel like I was just a freshman starting the season. It was very sad looking at our schedule and seeing only eight games left.”
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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.)