GSB Softball Breaks Individual and Team Records by Season’s End 

By all accounts, the 2024 Gill St. Bernard’s Softball (9-14) season is a tale of two seasons. 

Fielding a team with only two seniors, one junior, and ten underclassmen meant that the team took a while to hit their stride. The girls started the season at 4-9 while losing five of those games by two runs or less. They finished the season playing .500 softball in the last 10 games and, most importantly, were able to gain valuable experience as they head into the 2025 season with another young team. 

Those challenges aside, GSB Softball achieve significant accomplishments—winning the third Prep B title in as many years for the first time in school history.  The team also advanced to the county quarter finals for the first time since 2022 and played in the third state sectional semifinal in the last four years. 

“Overall, I'm most proud of this group's ability to fight through adversity and to their commitment to hard work and to each other,” said Softball Head Coach Mike Surella. “One only needs to watch the replay of the Prep B final against MKA to see how much they enjoy playing together and how proud they are to represent their school.” 

Individually, senior Brooke Baisley's 34 hits in one year put her past former record holder Scooter Hulsen as the GSB all-time hit's leader. She ended her year with 141 hits over her career. Additional individual accomplishments included junior Emily Titsworth’s performance on the mount. The dynamic pitcher surpassed 200 strikeouts during the state quarterfinal win at Mother Seton, and her career isn’t over yet. 

“The team was led on and off the field by captains Baisley, Julianna Perri ’24, and Titsworth,” said Surella. “Their ability to lead by example got us through the tough times and taught our younger players how to prepare in order to compete at this level.” 

Newcomers Ella Martinelli ’26 and Isabella Mecca ’26 made things happen on both sides of the ball, and according to Surella, will only get better—perhaps ever reaching the 100 hits mark in their careers. 

Fellow sophomores Sammie Kalinak and Brynn McCarthy made huge strides over the season, gaining confidence and improving beyond their years, as did sophomores Lexi Kolenski, Elia Titmas, and Julianne Witte. Newcomers Mac Weese, Margot Huelsbergen, and Charlotte Brown were thrown into the fire as freshmen and each gained valuable experience heading into next season. 

“With a summer of hard work ahead—in addition to returning 11 experienced players and adding three talented freshmen, I am excited for the 2025 season,” Surella shared. “Our goals will be the same: to capture our fourth Prep B title in a row and to have a deep run in the county and state playoffs. It will be another great year.”