On the mound Roselle Park right hander Maddie Hummel won 72 games in four standout seasons.
At the plate one of the area’s top No. 3 batters in the lineup helped the Panthers win 83 games from 2016-2019.
Considering attending Kean University and not playing softball at the next level, Hummel reconsidered and will take her talents to Moravian College.
She caught the eye of head coach John Byrne, who will begin his 27th season at the helm of the Division 3 Greyhounds of Bethlehem, Pa. in 2020.
“I was on the fence whether I wanted to play in college or not,” said Hummel, a four-year varsity star for the Roselle Park softball who led the Panthers to three straight North 2, Group 1 titles, one Group 1 state championship and back-to-back Union County Tournament crowns.
“I just decided last summer (that she wanted to play in college),” said Hummel, who will turn 18 on Aug. 16.
Through her travel team 12 months ago Hummel first came in contact with Moravian. Hummel will study education there with the goal of becoming a teacher.
Byrne came to see Hummel pitch twice this year, including Roselle Park’s sectional final at home against Whippany Park. It was at that time that one of Union County’s best players decided that Moravian would be her next softball stop.
“I was a little nervous at first, because I wanted to stay closer to home, but this gives me a chance to meet and see more people,” Hummel said. “My parents also wanted me to play in college.”
Last fall Hummel played for the Morris County Belles’ 18-and-under squad. This summer she has competed for the Jersey Girls 18U team that played tournaments in-state and in Pennsylvania and New York as well.
Hummel fashioned a 72-28 (.720) pitching record and a lifetime batting average of .367 while starring for Roselle Park.
“Coach (Byrne) told me that whoever is hitting will get at-bats, but he is looking at me mostly for pitching,” Hummel said.
“Moravian is a good choice for Maddie,” Roselle Park head coach Fran Maggio said. “They have been in the NCAAs quite a few times and John recruits this area.”
Two standouts from Johnson in Clark are on the team, with infielder Shannon Brogan going into her junior year and outfielder-pitcher Nicole Cassano her sophomore campaign.
“There’s a Union County connection, which made Maddie feel good,” Maggio said. “It’s away, but not that far away.
“Maddie will get to experience some different things and play at a pretty good level. It will be a positive college experience for her.”
Hummel became the second Roselle Park pitcher to lead the Panthers to a state championship and consecutive UCT titles.
The bigger the game the better Hummel was – both on the mound and at the plate.
“What I enjoyed the most was making relationships with the coaches and my teammates,” Hummel said.
The game that did not have a trophy at stake, but was imperative for Roselle Park to win in order to have a chance at capturing another state championship was the 2018 Group 1 semifinal against Cedar Grove. The Panthers lost to the Essex County Panthers in the 2017 Group 1 semis.
This time Roselle Park prevailed and then the Panthers went on to beat Gloucester City at Kean for the program’s second state championship and first since 2003.
“We looked at that Cedar Grove game as there was no way we were going to lose, there was no way that was going to happen,” Hummel said.
“Also winning the county championships both years at Kean was really cool because we were right in front of the fans.”
When winning big games began for Hummel and her teammates was at the end of her freshman campaign in 2016 on a turf field in Springfield.
Roselle Park defeated Dayton 4-3 in that year’s North 2, Group 1 state championship game.
“At the time I didn’t realize how big, how important that game was, but in the last inning to hear the crowd chanting my name was one of the best feelings ever.”
NOTES: Roselle Park went 15-1 in North 2, Group 1 playoff games the past four seasons. Including a 1-2 record in Group 1 semifinals, a 1-0 record in Group 1 finals and an 0-1 record in TOC games, the Panthers went 17-4 in state tournament games the last four years.
ROSELLE PARK RECORD THE PAST FOUR YEARS:
2019: (20-7) – 5-4 and second in UCC’s Watchung Division
Union County Tournament champions
North 2, Group 1 finalists
2018: (27-3) – 9-0 and first in UCC’s Mountain Division
Union County Tournament champions
North 2, Group 1 champions
Group 1 state champions
2017: (17-10) – 10-0 and first in UCC’s Mountain Division
North 2, Group 1 champions
2016: (19-13) – 7-1 and first in UCC’s Mountain Division
North 2, Group 1 champions
Total: 83-33 (.716).
MADDIE HUMMEL PITCHING RECORD THE PAST FOUR YEARS:
2019: (16-7), 174 strikeouts
2018: (23-3), 191 strikeouts
2017: (16-8), 161 strikeouts
2016: (17-10), 166 strikeouts
Total: (72-28), 692 strikeouts