FILE PHOTO
St. Mary’s pitcher Mia Nowicki will get one last chance to play with catcher Emily Stephenson, her Spartan battery mate, in Sunday’s Agganis All-Star softball game.
By HAROLD RIVERA
The last time the pitcher-catcher battery of Mia Nowicki and Emily Stephenson walked off the diamond together, the two Spartan teammates shed tears as the St. Mary’s softball team fell in the Division 3 North semifinal to Austin Prep.
Sunday, Nowicki and Stephenson will get one final chance to work together as battery mates in the 20th Agganis All-Star Softball Game.
Nowicki and Stephenson will star on the North team as pitcher and catcher, respectively.
Both view the chance to be recognized among the area’s top senior athletes as an honor.
“It’s a pretty big honor,” Stephenson, who’ll also play in the Agganis All-Star Girls Soccer Game, said. “The Agganis games are really well known in the North Shore area. To be able to play not only one sport, but two sports is an honor. It’s great to not only to be able to represent myself but also my teammates and my school.”
“It’s a great honor so I’m pretty excited about playing in it,” Nowicki said. “It’s going to be fun, us all playing together. It’s going to be a really good game. I’m excited to play with all the girls because they’re all great softball players.”
As key contributors to the St. Mary’s softball team that saw its season come to a tough ending in a 2-0 loss to eventual North champion Austin Prep, Nowicki and Stephenson are eager to get back on the diamond for one final go-round.
“We’re already talking about it,” Nowicki, who’ll continue her softball career at Assumption College, said. “We’re all excited to play with each other one last time and hopefully win. We’re really excited to go out there and have fun, we always have fun when we play with each other.”
Although the season didn’t end the way they hoped it would, the accomplishments the Spartans reached this past spring can’t be overlooked. St. Mary’s won 20 games and featured four players on the Catholic Central League All-Star team.
“We went into the season pretty confident,” Stephenson said. “We had a good amount of the team back. We were excited to make a run at a state championship. We had four CCL All-Stars, and Mia won CCL MVP. Overall it was a successful season even though we didn’t get the ending we wanted.”
To make Sunday’s softball game even more memorable for the Spartan pair, the two will be joined on the North roster by teammates Victoria DiCenso and Casey Fraher, both infielders. They’ll also have one final chance to play for St. Mary’s coach Paige Licata, who was tabbed to direct the North team.
“Playing in the Agganis Game would’ve been fun but having a coach that has been with me, Mia, Tori and Casey for the past two years makes it like a reunion, one final get together for us Spartans,” Stephenson said. “That’ll be really cool to have her on the field, together, one last time.”
“I’m really happy we get to play one last game for her (Licata),” Nowicki said. “For us, we were a special group for her. She’s been really great towards us. We really grew close to her this season. We’re really happy to be playing for her again.”
And of course, the chance to work together one final time as pitcher and catcher is an opportunity that neither of the two will likely forget any time soon.
For Stephenson, the chance to catch a pitcher of Mia’s caliber for the past two seasons at St. Mary’s has made playing softball a fun experience.
“It’s awesome,” Stephenson said. “We didn’t expect our last game to be our last game. Mia’s one of the best pitchers in the state, if not the best pitcher in the state. She makes the game so fun. Having the opportunity to catch mia makes me a better catcher.”
“It’s going to be special catching her one last time so m hoping to make the best out of it,” Stephenson, who’ll be studying exercise and sports physiology at Plymouth State in the fall added.
On the other hand, being able to pitch for a catcher with Stephenson’s talented has made Nowicki a more confident pitcher in the circle.
“I’m so excited that we get to play with each other one more time,” Nowicki said. “Even though we played a lot of games, I miss pitching for her. I’m so glad that I get to play with her again.”
“Her coming in as a catcher, it wasn’t her top position,” Nowicki added. “She did an amazing job. I don’t think one ball ever got by her. She was awesome at catcher and she made it so much easier for me.”
First pitch for Sunday’s softball game is scheduled for noon at Fraser Field.