SOUTH PORTLAND — Spring arrived late for the state’s high school softball teams. An April Fool’s snowstorm, followed by cold temperatures and rain, forced most schools to stay indoors, honing their skills on hardwood basketball courts.
In Beal Gymnasium, as South Portland High’s softball team prepares for its Class A state championship defense, Coach Ralph Aceto barks commands to his infielders. He wants them to work on the double-play grounder, so he hits a sharp ball toward second baseman Danielle DiBiase.
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Effortlessly she fields the ball, then flips it underhand to shortstop Danica Gleason, whose right foot clips the base as she throws on to first.
DiBiase, a senior, and Gleason, a sophomore, form one of the best up-the-middle duos in the state. With Alexis Bogdanovich or Erin Bogdanovich in center field depending on who’s pitching, the Riots are as strong defensively up the middle as any team in the state.
“They’re very fortunate to have those great athletes there,” said Tom Griffin, coach at rival Scarborough. “They can make some plays that other kids can’t make, make that one out in an inning that can make a difference. When you look at how much ground they cover, it’s huge.
“You want to build your defense strong up the middle. And that’s where they’re strong.”
DiBiase and Gleason take pride in their defense. “You can hit as many home runs as you want,” said Gleason. “You can score 10 runs. But if the other team scores 11 you’re going to lose. No matter how many runs you score, it doesn’t matter if you don’t play defense.”
The two have played volleyball, basketball and softball together for two years. In addition to becoming good friends, they have formed a chemistry in all three sports.
“And that really helps in softball,” said Gleason. “It’s about knowing where each other is always going to be.”
And maintaining their concentration, especially in those games when the Bogdanoviches are striking out a lot of batters – which is often.
“You’ve just got to get down on every pitch and be ready,” said DiBiase. “You’ve got to be ready if the ball is hit to you. You’ve got to make sure everyone knows where the ball is supposed to be going.”
Aceto had some tough decisions to make a year ago. He knew the move of the pitching circle to 43 feet from 40 would put more pressure on the defense.
So he took his best defensive outfielder, DiBiase, and moved her to second. Then he found his shortstop on the first day of tryouts.
“We were watching her that first week of tryouts,” said Aceto.
“The first day,” corrected assistant coach Marc Sandora.
“Right, the first day,” said Aceto. “And we looked at each other and said, ‘We filled that hole.’ She is just a natural.
“The thing about both of them is, well, look at Danielle. We took her out of her comfort zone, which was right field. We put her at a new position. And we put a freshman at shortstop. But we told them, we put them both in the positions that we felt were best for the team.”
And they responded. DiBiase made only two errors all season and Gleason made maybe three or four. “And that was because she got to balls other kids couldn’t get to,” said Aceto.
They smothered everything up the middle and closed the gaps between the corner positions.
Alexis Bogdanovich said having them behind her increased her confidence. “I know they’re going to make any play,” she said. “They’re quick, they’re good hitters, they’re just good softball players.”
Oh yes, hitting. They bat 1-2 in the lineup, although Aceto may move DiBiase to the middle of the lineup this year because of her ability to produce runs.
DiBiase, the leadoff hitter, hit .440 with an on-base percentage of .520. She hit two home runs, stole eight bases, drove in 16 and scored 22. Gleason, batting second, hit .396 with an on-base percentage of .472. She scored 19 runs and stole three bases.
“Our job is to get on any way possible,” said DiBiase. “There’s a lot of pressure on you when you bat first. It’s up to you to set the tone and get on base.”
“They were very important to our success last year,” said Aceto. “When you have them at the top of the order, then you have Erin at the bottom when those three get on together, it’s scary. They’re all fast, smart, good base runners.”
The Riots enter the season as a favorite to repeat. They graduated only three starters and return some of the top talent in the state, including catcher Katlin Norton.
“We’re very motivated,” said Gleason. “We know we can do it again.”
Alexis Bogdanovich welcomes the challenge.
“We know we have a target on our backs,” she said. “We just need to play like we didn’t win (the title) last year. We have to play like nothing happened.”
Staff Writer Mike Lowe can be contacted at 791-6422 or at: mlowe@pressherald.com
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