It’s the start of a new era for Rye softball, with both a new field and fresh roster for the 2024-25 season.
The team is rebuilding around lone senior captain Ava Cross and junior captains Ava Rollano and Tessa Labovitz to improve on last year’s 6-14-1 record (0-7-1 in league) and the loss of six seniors. Despite the lack of seniors, the team still includes third- and fourth-year starters — with Labovitz being the first eighth grader to ever join the varsity program — which will help the team achieve success this year.
Aside from the upperclass leadership, coach Alex Tejera is looking to the sophomores for production and depth, being the largest class, with six returners. The roster makeup is one senior, six juniors, seven sophomores, and three freshmen.
“They were being expected to produce when this is their first experience at the varsity level, so it’s not that easy for them to do as freshmen and sophomores,” Tejera said of last season’s underclassmen and the team’s overall inexperience. “A lot of learning going on last year.”
The varsity softball program also welcomes a completely new field, including a scoreboard, batting cages, and a permanent fence. The official grand opening and field dedication is scheduled for April 28, and the team will host Mahopac to play on it for the first time.
“They started [construction] right in the beginning of the school year, and now it’s just about ready,” Tejera said of the new field. “They did a really good job.”
The team is most looking forward to spring training in Florida, a long-standing tradition for the Rye varsity softball and baseball teams. They will play four scrimmages at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports in Orlando, where everyone will get playing time and rotate around the field.
“One of the reasons why we love Florida is that you can see who can produce in certain roles. I may not get the opportunity to see that if it’s a real game,” said Tejera. “Plus, it really is a bonding experience and an incredible memory for them. We always come back stronger from Florida every year, no matter what.”
Other traditions on the calendar for the Garnets are the Harrison games and the annual Westlake tournament. Rye will look to beat the reigning section champion Harrison April 9 and May 5, and go for the three-peat as two-year defending champions of the Westlake tournament on April 26.
The Garnets started the season with a 7-3 loss at Nyack on April 1 and a 14-2 loss at Pearl River on April 4, but there are still signs of the team’s potential despite the final scores. Sophomore Caroline Joyce pitched 12 innings across the two games, with eight earned runs and 10 strikeouts, and was impressive at the plate, scoring two runs in the opener and driving in one of Rye’s two runs at Pearl River. Labovitz also had hits in both games with two RBIs.
“They battled the whole time — they don’t give up, which is great to see,” Tejera said after the loss against Nyack. “It was a solid game for the first game of the season, [and] definitely a nice stepping stone to continue to get better.”
After the spring training trip April 13-18 in Florida, the Garnets play back-to-back road games before the Westlake Tournament and, finally, the debut of their new field on April 28.
