Swinging for Softball Greatness

Following a landmark 2022 campaign, expectations were high for the Brooklyn Campus softball team’s 2023 season.

“At the beginning of the year, we were excited about all of the new talent in the freshman class and the talent we retained,” said outfielder Emily Burroughs ’23, one of 12 returners on the 2023 squad.

One year removed from a fifth-place regular-season finish, the Bears entered the Skyline Conference Championship as the third seed – their best finish to a regular season ever.

“We were excited to try to top our record-breaking 2022 season,” Burroughs added. “We finished higher this year than last, so we saw it as a success.”

The Bears posted a 25-14 overall record and a 13-5 mark in Skyline Conference play this season. After securing a dramatic walk-off 1-0 win in the first round of the conference championship tournament, SJNY was knocked out in the double-elimination round.

Five team members earned Skyline All-Conference honors, including Maeve McKeon ’23, a First-Team selection in the utility role.

Juniors Bella Gomez and Arianna Heinsch, sophomore Lauren Van Der Kamp, and freshman Brooke Horn graced the Second-Team.

Burroughs’ freshman season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the season before she arrived, the team had a losing record of 16-20 and narrowly qualified for the playoffs as a six-seed.

“Our team has come a long way since my first year,” said Burroughs, one of seven California residents on the roster. “We’ve continued to set program bests. I believe that the team this year was the closest group of girls I’ve ever played with; we all had so much respect for each other, the program and the game.”