MARBLEHEAD — When you have a star in the circle in softball, your team’s usually in a good position to win games.
When that star pitcher’s just as dangerous with her bat as she is with her arm, your team’s in a great position to win. Such is the case for the Marblehead softball team with junior Charlotte Plakans, who’s solidifying her place as one of the more feared pitchers and hitters in the Northeastern Conference.
A right-hander, Plakans has tallied stellar numbers on both sides of the game this season. In the circle, Plakans sports a 13-1 record with 125 strikeouts and a 1.07 ERA in 91 innings of work.
“First of all, Charlotte has a really good fastball,” Magicians coach Johnny Gold said. “She has picked up speed on her fastball. She throws other pitches and she has improved on those pitches. She’s composed on the field and she has improved her defense. Like most high school pitchers do, they all work at it. She’s more athletic and she has great command.”
And she’s just as lethal at the plate, where Plakans carries a .553 batting average with seven doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI. Plakans provides a reliable source of offense batting from the No. 3 spot in Marblehead’s order.
“She’s our leading hitter,” Gold said. “She leads us in hits and RBI. She’s second in home runs.
She’s having a great season and you don’t get that all the time with pitchers. In past years, I have pitchers just pitch because they have a lot to do. She’s a powerful, strong hitter. I have to give her all the credit because she works at it.”
“It’s an exceptional season she’s having,” Gold added, “and she’s an exceptional young lady.”
One of the keys to Plakans’ success this spring is the time she dedicated to improving her physical condition during the offseason. Plakans made it a point to sharpen her craft in the winter in hopes of having a stellar season. It’s fair to say her dedication in the offseason has paid dividends.
“I had pitching lessons two times a week during the winter,” Plakans, a three-year varsity player, said. “I also did lifting and hitting practices. It’s a lot of time but it all definitely pays off in the end.”
“I’m not surprised,” added Gold. “When I saw Charlotte this year I couldn’t believe how much stronger and leaner she got. She worked at it, in a positive way, to become a better pitcher. That’s a tribute to her. She deserves all the accolades she’s getting this season.”
Another important aspect of her success in the circle is the chemistry Plakans has developed with Magicians catcher Jolie Quintana, a freshman. When Plakans needed a catcher to work with during the winter, she tabbed Quintana for the job and the two have formed a strong battery since.
“We really count on each other,” Plakans, who’s also a member of Marblehead’s field hockey team, said. “I’m really impressed with what Jolie has been able to accomplish as a freshman.”
In fact, Plakans feels the entire team has developed positive chemistry as the season has progressed. The Magicians are clicking on all ends of the field and it reflects in their 14-1 record. Marblehead’s lone loss was a 6-5 defeat at the hands of Revere in April. They’ve won nine in a row since then.
“I think this year, more than any year, we’ve been really close and we all know each other well,” Plakans said. “We can count on each other to pull through. I can trust the defense behind me and I know our offense can hit.
“We’re really close as a team,” Plakans said. “We spend a lot of time together. With field and weather conditions, things were difficult at the beginning of the season. We tried really hard to get ready and have everything together. A bunch of us played together indoors and that gave us a little bit of a head start.”
With a spot in the state tournament sealed, Marblehead’s main goal for the remainder of the regular season is to maintain its momentum as the Magicians aim for a postseason run. They reached the Division 2 North tournament last year as the No. 5 seed but were ousted after a first-round loss to Tewksbury.
Plakans and her teammates are hungry to take things further this time around.
“At the beginning of every season we set goals for ourselves,” Plakans said. “Win our first game, make the state tournament, win our first game in the tournament. We’ve had bad draws in past years. I’m hoping we do a little better this year. I think we’ve freaked out a bit when we get to states. This year we’re hoping for a better result.”