By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
St. John Vianney, Holmdel softball pitcher Madison McDougall was so good last year, opponents may be shocked to discover they were facing an injured hurler in 2023 when the freshman pitched SJV to the NJSIAA Non-Public A state title.
Which means she and the Lancers could be even tougher this spring.
“She pitched pretty much the whole season with a stress fracture, but we kept it quiet,” said her mom, SJV coach Kim Lombardi-McDougall. “When we got it x-rayed after the first game of the season, they said she had severe shin splints and needed to take a two-week rest.
“She told me there was no way she was coming off the field,” she continued, “and being that it was my kid I had a little more leeway than if it was someone else’s kid. If I had known she had a stress fracture, I probably would have ripped her off the field.”
The fracture was not diagnosed until an MRI at season’s end. Thinking it was a lesser injury, McDougall toughed it out.
“I was living on Advil and ankle tape all season,” the sophomore said. “During practice it hurt more, but during the game I had more adrenaline, so I really didn’t think about it after the second inning.”
Once the stress fracture was revealed, Lombardi-McDougall shut her daughter down during the summer and early fall travel seasons so she could recover.
St. John Vianney’s softball team returns as the defending Non-Public A state champion and looks just as good this year with the likes of (from left) four-year senior starters Giuliana Cardin, Isabelle Cattelona and Jordyn Gautier returning. Courtesy photo
With the injury now public, it makes McDougall’s freshman season even more impressive. The right-hander went 23-1 with 219 strikeouts and a 1.04 ERA in 141 innings. She allowed just 46 walks and 62 runs, and at the plate hit .563 with five homers, 13 doubles and 32 RBIs.
It’s no wonder she has a proud mama.
“She’s tough as anything, she’s a competitor,” Lombardi-McDougall said.
With a clean bill of health, McDougall should be even more imposing.
“She had great poise as a freshman,” Lombardi-McDougall said. “Her maturity level has risen. She tried to fine tune some of her spin and I’m hoping for a few extra strikeouts per game. With her being healthy, if our defense plays well and our kids hit the ball it’s all good.”
The Lancers are again one of the favorites to win the Shore Conference Tournament and Non-Public A titles after going 27-1 last year. Their loss came in 10 innings to Donovan Catholic, Toms River, in the SCT championship game. Lombardi-McDougall felt that setback helped fuel Vianney.
“That was the little bump in the road we needed,” she said. “No one ever wants to lose. But if I had to pick one to lose, I’d take a 10-inning one-run loss followed by a state run any day.”
Donovan Catholic, Notre Dame of Lawrenceville and SJV will again be in the Non-Public A championship mix this year but only SJV can call itself the defending champ. And the coach is not worried about over-confidence.
“Everything is gonna stay like it’s been the last 20 years I’ve been coaching,” she said. “We’re just gonna stay within ourselves, hopefully we play some really good softball all season and peak at the right time to win at the end.”
SJV returns seven starters and has two solid freshmen stepping into the spots of heavy hitting Grace Colucci and Holly Lovett.
The infield includes junior Elisabeth Figliolino (.450, 11 HRs, 47 RBIs) at catcher, four-year starter Isabelle Cattelona (.369, 28 RBIs) at first, three-year starter Nicole Giglio (.250, 27 runs) at second, sophomore Gabby Gonzalez (.513, 41 RBIs) at short and freshman Brynn Utter on third. The outfield features four-year starters Jordyn Gautier (.412, 22 RBIs) and Giuliana Cardin (.349, 18 RBIs) in right and center, while Kelli Plumaker (.348) and Mia Favato will share time in left.
“We have to stay focused and take one game at a time,” Maddy McDougall said. “I’m excited, I think we’re gonna have a good team. Our freshmen are good, they’ll get the job done. Our team has a good attitude. We pick each other up. A bunch of us play together on our travel team. We’re like one big family.”
If they can repeat as state champs, they will be one big happy family.
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