Sports
Senior Pitcher Takes Job on Mound Seriously
Berkley High School's Allison Soboleski spent the offseason honing her skills so she can help the Bears' softball team this spring.
Allison Soboleski is taking her pitching responsibilities seriously this season. The senior has been diligently working on the accuracy and selection of her pitches for the 2011 campaign.
Soboleski’s extra work will be put to the test when the Bears kick off the spring softball season with a scheduled nonconference meeting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday at Walled Lake Northern.
“She’s been taking lessons and working all offseason, working hard at it and not just starting March the 14h,” Berkley head coach Ken DePerro said of Soboleski’s pitching. “She’s been working at it for months. She’s in better shape physically (than last season). Hopefully it’ll all pay off.”
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Soboleski spent her offseason working with a pitching coach. The right-hander is trying to add a drop ball to her pitching repertoire. However, she has primarily been concentrating on perfecting control of her fastball and changeup.
Soboleski’s efforts are appreciated by her lone senior teammate. “I love her,” senior Ashley Bujarski said of Soboleski. “She’s been working so hard. I think she’s been working for two or three years now to improve her pitching and she’s so dedicated to getting accuracy down – because she definitely has speed – and she’s doing a really good job of it.”
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Soboleski has been pitching since the seventh grade. She began her softball career through the Berkley Mom’s Club program when she was in elementary school and has been hooked ever since.
“All of my friends were in the league and stuff and it just stuck,” Soboleski said. “It was the sport that I liked best.”
Soboleski plans to head to Alma College in Alma, MI, this fall to further her education. She also is pursuing the possibility of joining the softball team in the future.
At this point, Soboleski is concentrating on making the most of her second – and final – varsity season with the Bears. “I hope to improve on my pitching, but mostly, I want to have fun and just play softball,” Soboleski said. “It’d be nice to win, but for right now, it’s not the No. 1 priority.”
Winning will take a bit of a backseat to development for Berkley this season. The Bears field a young team that includes four freshmen.
“There’s always room for improvement and I think it’s going to improve in leaps and bounds at this point,” Soboleski said.
