NORTH TONAWANDA — First at-bat or down to the final strike. There’s no situation that strikes fear into North Tonawanda.
It’s an approach that took time to develop for the Lumberjacks, because when Emily Belfield was hired as coach two years ago, half the team was composed of players who were sophomores or younger. Ten of those players are still on the team and they are gradually seeing the results.
Since Belfield took over, NT’s offensive production skyrocketed. In this span, the Lumberjacks won 26 games and a trip to the Section VI Class A1 final four, scored 349 total runs, and batted a collective .352 average.
Now, over the halfway point this season, the Lumberjacks have maintained their offensive presence and are now eyeing their first Niagara Frontier League title in 20 years. Entering Friday, NT is 10-1 on the season and stands at the top of the league with an unblemished 9-0 record.
“I don’t see a team that is fearful,” Belfield said. “From the time we start the game until the end, they don’t care what the score is, they have one goal and that’s to win. Whatever it takes, at any point in time, ‘What can I do to help my team win?’ … I think they want to win so badly, and they have the ability to do it, that they’re willing to do whatever it takes to get it done at the end of the game.”
NT has outscored its opponents 110-28 through 11 games this season. But along with putting consecutive wins together, it’s how NT has scored that has stood out.
After accomplishing the feat eight times last season, NT has scored over 10 runs five times this season, including 23 against Kenmore East. That’s the second highest single-game total under Belfield since scoring 27 against Sweet Home in last year’s season-opener.
But additionally, the Lumberjacks are 5-1 in games decided by three runs or less, with the lone loss, a 3-0 defeat against Class AAA Lancaster. What’s helped NT bring in runs is not just making contact with the ball, but putting some zip on contact, preferring line drives to bloopers.
“It’s the hardest to get out,” Belfield said. “We can hit a hard ball through the infield and easily get a base hit. We can hit line drives and it can score people from first, second or third. … You can’t catch a line drive or something hard through the infield, so, that’s really what we’ve started to try and instill in these girls and they do a really good job following the plan.”
The plan at the plate has now become part of the routine for the Lumberjacks, especially among the 10 players who have suited up for Belfield the last three years. Six players are currently batting .400 with four players driving in at least 10 runs, including D’Andrea’s team-best 14.
NT knows the final stretch of the regular season, including a rematch with Niagara Wheatfield May 10 in Sanborn, is just around the corner before sectional postseason begins. But, to them, it’s not how or when the runs are produced, it’s continuing to stay focused on what’s helped them succeed up to this point.
“I believe that we just focus on the next play, where if we make a bad play the play before, we just get the next one,” D’Andrea said. “Because, we have each other’s backs and we pick each other up. And we just move on, and we move on to the next play. And it’s worked for us this whole season.”