One week into the high school softball season and it might be difficult to determine where Sami Rosenberg’s impact has been greatest for the Walter Johnson Wildcats.
Rosenberg, a junior, bats leadoff. In two games, she has reached base safely in seven of eight plate appearances, drawing six walks, scoring three runs and driving in another run. For the third year in a row, Rosenberg also is Walter Johnson’s No. 1 pitcher. In 10 innings, she has allowed four hits and one earned run, striking out 17 batters and holding opponents to a .108 batting average as the Wildcats started the season 2-0.
“She’s a really good leadoff hitter – she takes a lot of pitches and scores a lot of runs,” Walter Johnson Coach Rich Carter said. “She probably throws in the mid-50s [as a pitcher] which is above average for the county, but she also is very deceptive. She has movement and can hit spots and she also plays to the weakness of the hitter.”
For her efforts, Rosenberg was named the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame High School Athlete of the Week.
Each week throughout the school year, the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame is partnering with Montgomery Community Media to honor an Athlete of the Week from the county’s more than 40 public and private high schools.
The fall Athletes of the Week were presented with a commemorative hat and certificate at the Montgomery County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2022 induction ceremony in December.
Rosenberg is trying to lead the Wildcats’ softball team to the same success she enjoyed as a wing on the Bethesda school’s ice hockey this winter, when Walter Johnson won the Maryland Student Hockey League championship. That pursuit, though, will take a brief break this week, as Rosenberg travels to California with her club team for a national tournament.
Knowing she will miss the softball team’s next two games, Rosenberg spent part of practice this week working with the junior varsity pitchers to smooth out their pitching motions and increase velocity. In the meantime, Carter looks forward to her return after spring break.
“And next year, too,” he said. “I still have another year with her.”
