It was a frigid March afternoon, Methuen High visited Greater Lawrence Tech for a softball scrimmage on the Reggies’ turf.
The competitive juices in Tech coach John Delaney were already flowing when one of the tougher hitters in the Ranger lineup came to the plate.
“He gave me the complete scouting report on her,” laughed Reggies’ pitcher Sam Nasella.
The batter was not amused.
“He knows I don’t like to see change-ups, so he had Sam keep throwing them,” said Methuen’s Adriana Delaney, John’s daughter. “Still, I think I did pretty well against her I guess.”
Sunday morning (10:30 a.m.) at Frasier Field in Lynn, there will be a rematch.
Recent graduates Delaney and Nasella will face off as opponents in the 21st Agganis All-Star Game. This time, though, the proud dad and coach, John, will be in the stands.
“I know a couple of girls who will play in it. And I’m very excited to play in the game with the chance to meet a bunch of new people,” said Delaney. “I was very happy to be selected with the amount of work I’ve put in at Methuen over four years for it.”
Nasella was equally gracious for the honor she earned over a storied four-year career at Greater Lawrence.
“It means so much to me. I was just so excited to be recognized and to be able to play in the game,” said Nasella. “I’m just very grateful for it.”
Nasella and Delaney, while playing on different teams in different conferences and competing for different clubs, have found a way to bond – through softball. So, when they got the news of their selections, each was ecstatic to have one very friendly face on the Frasier turf.
“I haven’t gotten the chance to talk to her about it but we’ve texted about it,” said Delaney, who is headed to Southern New Hampshire University to play her college softball in the fall. “I know she’s looking forward to it. It’s going to be a fun senior game.”
There is certainly a mutual respect between the two as players as well.
“I didn’t know her before high school softball, but I got to meet her and talk to her, going to some of her games, I’ve really gotten to know her.”
Both carved out time on their calendars to play.
Currently playing a Team New Jersey Tournament in the Garden State with her travel team, the New England Unity out of Rhode Island, Delaney will head back to the state after Saturday’s games to play in the Agganis Game.
Similarly, Nasella will be competing for Lisa Tisbert’s Warrior club team out of Andover at a tourney in Rhode Island this weekend. She’s making the trip back up to Lynn.
After that, both will hit the road for a summer full of tourney action.