Kiley Sweeney began playing softball in elementary school and then joined the Howard County Fever travel team when she was 13.
The Laurel resident eventually played for another travel team as a student at St. Vincent Pallotti High, where she was a member of the varsity softball team for four years.
But Sweeney, who attended St. Mary's in Laurel, had two distinctive experiences between club and high school softball. She was not a regular pitcher for her travel teams, while she was one of the main pitchers for the Panthers during her four-year career at Pallotti.
"I would say this is the best year we have had. This is the best record we have ever had the past four seasons," Sweeney said of the 2016 season at Pallotti. "We have not been to the semifinal game (in the playoffs) before. We have been able to beat teams we have not beaten before."
Sweeney was the only senior on the roster this year for the Panthers, who were 7-4 in regular-season play with a 5-2 mark in the Interscholastic Athletic Association of Maryland C Conference.
And she was certainly a valuable performer for Panthers head coach Katie Grenchik, a former Pallotti infielder who just concluded her fourth season as the head coach.
"She has nice speed to her (as a pitcher). She is a lot quicker than C teams can get around on," Grenchik said. "Against B division teams she would be very competitive."
Sweeney hit .526 during the regular season play and was the winning pitcher and also hit a double when the Panthers beat Friends School 19-5 at home at Fairland Regional Park in West Laurel on May 9 in the IAAM playoffs.
The season came to an end May 12 for Pallotti in a 21-3 loss at Mt. Carmel in the playoff semifinals. The Panthers, 8-5 overall this year, had defeated Mt. Carmel in regular-season play.
"We were more solid all-around," Grenchik said. "We were good last year, too. They seemed to work well with each other. They just seemed to jell, which was awesome."
Junior catcher Skylar Johnson batted .390 with 12 stolen bases during regular-season play and she was appreciated by her battery mate.
"She is one of best friends," Sweeney said of Johnson, who completed her third season on varsity. "It is comfortable having her as a catcher. She makes me more focused."
"With only one senior, it was definitely a new dynamic," she said. "Since we lost so many seniors, it gave us an opportunity to fill in positions."
Last season, the Panthers relied on pitcher in Imani Torregano, who graduated in 2015 from the Laurel private school.
"She would come in for relief (as a pitcher) and I would play shortstop," Sweeney said.
Sweeney plans to attend Salisbury University in the fall. She gave thought to trying to walk-on for softball, but for now plans to focus more on academics.
There were eight teams this year in the C conference, a league that Pallotti has played in for the past few years.
Grenchik hopes that the Panthers can move up next year to the B level in the IAAM. Pallotti did not have a junior varsity team again this year due to a lack of available players.
"I expect us to have a strong season in 2017", said Johnson, who feels the Panthers could compete well in the B Conference if that happens.
College notes
Laurel resident Torregano, a senior last year for Pallotti, was a freshman outfielder this year for Cumberland University, an NAIA program in Tennessee.
She hit a team-high .350 in 47 games, with 46 starts, and also led the team with 17 steals.
Cumberland finished 15-33.
The Division III Catholic University baseball team was aided this year by Laurel residents and Reservoir High graduates Danny O'Hagan and Jon Mierzwa; and Josh Martin, a graduate of Atholton.
Senior catcher/outfielder O'Hagan hit .344 with one homer and 17 RBIs; Mierzwa was 3-2 in 37.1 innings as a pitcher; and Martin was 0-0 on the mound in 10.1 innings of work.
Catholic was 20-19 overall.