HITTING MILESTONES: Hun School softball player Lexi Kobryn smacks the ball in a game last season. Senior star and Villanova commit Kobryn recently hit the 500-strikeout and 100-hit marks in her career. She is the first player in program history to have both 500 strikeouts and 100 hits. She is the only Raider with 500 strikeouts and just the second to have 100 hits in addition to Lauren McQuade. Last Wednesday in a 15-0 win over the Hill School (Pa.), Kobryn added to her totals as she had seven strikeouts in a four-inning one-hitter and contributed two hits. Hun, which swept a doubleheader against Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) last Saturday, winning 8-0 and 16-0 to improve to 11-1, plays at Pingry on May 2 and at the Blair Academy on May 4. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

In the last couple of weeks, Lexi Kobryn has cemented her status as one of the greatest players in the proud history of the Hun School softball program.

On April 18 in a 5-0 win over Hightstown, senior righty fireballer Kobryn recorded her 500th career strikeout, the first Hun pitcher to reach that milestone.

Four days later, Kobryn pounded out the 100th hit of her career, making her just the second Raider player after Lauren McQuade to achieve the century mark.

Reflecting on her accomplishments, Kobryn is proud of the legacy she is leaving.

“It means a lot, I have been working for that my whole career,” said Kobryn, a Villanova commit. “I knew I was getting close, it was just exciting to get that. I have been really working hard. I know a lot of Hun softball players haven’t done that, so it is amazing. I am leaving my mark, which is pretty cool.”

Last Wednesday, Kobryn added to her totals in a 15-0 win over the Hill School (Pa.), striking out seven as she pitched a one-hitter in a game that ended after four innings due to the run rule and contributed two hits.

“My curves and my screw were working, they were probably my best,” said Kobryn in assessing her pitching performance. “I have been trying to put myself in the best spot to succeed in college in the fall.”

Kobryn is proud of her work with the bat this spring. “I feel like this is the best season I have had hitting, it is nice to see my hard work pay off,” said Kobryn.

That extra work entails Kobryn coming to school at 6:30 a.m. for strength training and honing her hitting in home sessions after practice.

“It is hard to get my workout in, I can’t lose what I have done so coming in the morning is what works best,” said Kobryn. “It is weights. I am always getting extra reps hitting. If I feel I don’t get enough here in practice, I will go home and hit off the tee.”

Playing alongside the squad’s other senior, Jamie Staub, has been extra special for Kobryn.

“It has been awesome to share the field with Jamie for four years,” said Kobryn. “She is a great teammate and a great player. It is nice that we have gotten to do it together.”

With Hun having won two straight Prep A state titles, Kobryn is looking to go out with a three-peat.

“I think every year we have such a strong group of girls,” said Kobryn. “Even off the field, we are such a tight-knit group. We definitely can go far.”

Suffering a 2-1 loss to Blair on April 20, the only setback so far this spring for Hun, has helped the group’s focus.

“We played a good game, we competed well,” said Kobryn. “A loss stinks, but we grow from it. It is going to make us stronger. We know we are going to play them again. We are going to come back and we are going to shine.”

In order to shine down the stretch, Hun will need show a strong spirit.

“It is staying up, cheering in the dugout,” said Kobryn. “We just need to have the energy. I know we can all play well. It is having that confidence, we all give that to each other.”

Hun head coach Kathy Quirk was confident that her squad would rebound from the loss to Blair.

“I told them a good team bounces back and we are a good team,” said Quirk. “Sometimes it is a blessing in disguise. If we see them again in states and if we win when we go up there, that would be two wins against them. It is tough to beat a team three times.”

The Raiders displayed some toughness as they topped Villa Joseph Marie (Pa.) 11-2 on April 22 in their first game after playing Blair.

“We had a nice bounce back on Monday against Villa Joseph Marie,” said Quirk. “We just pounded the ball.”

In the win over Hill, Hun kept pounding the ball as it recorded 10 hits.

“I thought we did well, we were very patient at the plate,” said Quirk, whose team swept a doubleheader against Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) last Saturday, winning 8-0 and 16-0 to improve to 11-1. “We didn’t try to kill the ball, we took the walk instead of trying to kill it. If you try to kill it, it flies up.”

Quirk credits Kobryn with crushing it this spring in her final campaign for the Raiders.

“Lexi has been doing a great job, she works hard,” said Quirk of Kobryn, who is batting .632 with two homers and 25 RBIs and has 117 strikeouts in 53 innings with a 0.26 ERA in the circle. “I am happy for her. She is leaving here with some nice records, she has done a great job. She knows that her teammates have her back.”

Junior Kailey Jacobs and sophomore Rowan Lacy have also been giving Hun some good work as well.

“I have been happy with Kailey at shortstop, she has done a nice job,” said Quirk. “She had a nice bunt today. I am pleased with Rowan too.”

With Hun playing at Pingry on May 2 and at Blair on May 4, Hun believes her squad is in a good place heading into the homestretch.

“I am confident in our pitchers,” said Quirk, whose pitching staff includes Staub and junior Anna Murphy in addition to Kobryn. “A couple of them are up and down with their hitting, but we have done a nice job. We have worked a lot on hitting every day.”

While Kobryn is hoping for a nice finish, she won’t soon forget her Hun experience no matter what happens in the postseason.

“I know that the friends I have made in the four years, I am going to have them forever,” said Kobryn. “It is sad that I am moving on. The memories I have had — you can never take that away.”