Bloomfield senior Hope Kornstein gets congratulated by head coach Bob Mayer after hitting a homer vs. West Orange on April 20.
BLOOMFIELD, NJ — The Bloomfield High School softball team was led by a few good players this past spring season.
Graduated senior first baseman Hope Kornstein, one of the team captains, made first team all–Super Essex Conference. Bob Mayer, who coached his final season for the Bengals after 34 seasons this year, said Kornstein was an excellent first baseman who led the team in hits, with 29, and RBIs, with 30. She batted .408 for the season.
Graduated senior third baseman Isabella Olaya was an honorable mention all-SEC selection. Also a captain, Olaya led the team with a .422 batting average, and had 27 hits and scored 24 runs.
Emily Tice, a graduated senior catcher, joined the team as a junior and learned the catcher position quickly, said Mayer. She finished this year on a tear. In the final six games, Tice was 11-for-17 with 10 RBIs, including four doubles and two triples.
The Lady Bengals’ pitchers were young: sophomores Megan Lardner and Olivia Gonnella. Lardner saw most of the time in the pitching circle, while Gonnella was dealing with an injury for most of the season. “When they were on, we were competitive,” Mayer said of the pitchers.
In all, the team graduated nine seniors, including four starters.
Though he won’t be coaching the team, Mayer feels Bloomfield can become competitive.
“If the pitching can improve, they could be competitive next year,” he said.
Photos Courtesy of Jerry Simon.
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