McNair Academic softball team looks solid again

McNair Academic senior pitcher Mariah Villanueva

The McNair Academic High School softball team had a sensational season in 2019, winning 16 games and won the Blue Division championship in the Hudson County Interscholastic Athletic League.

“It was our best season in a while,” said McNair’s veteran coach John Hughes.

There was only one downside to the Cougars’ season. They lost their last three games of the season, including lopsided setbacks to Weehawken in the Hudson County Tournament and to Madison in the NJSIAA North Jersey Section 2, Group II state playoffs.

“I was disappointed with our performance in the Weehawken game,” Hughes said. “We knew that it was our worst game of the year. The Madison game, well, that team was just better than us. There’s always room to get better. We want to play teams like that in order to get better.”

After the loss to Madison, Hughes knew that his team was determined to come back this season better than ever.

“I saw a big commitment from them,” Hughes said. “They were doing weight training and some jogging. They played fall ball. They went out in February when the weather was mild and threw the ball around. Absolutely, the girls were ready.”

Hughes realized that the majority of the 2019 team was returning in 2020.

“There was a whole bunch of experience,” Hughes said. “They had a lot of purpose to play together, working together.”

Leading the way were the Villanueva sisters, senior pitcher Mariah and junior catcher Mya. Both were selected as All-Hudson County performers a year ago.

Mariah Villanueva had a phenomenal campaign, both hitting and pitching a year ago. On the mound, Mariah struck out 158 batters in 113 innings. At the plate, Mariah batted .428 with one homer and 21 RBI.

“She does a little bit of everything,” Hughes said. “She’s a program changer. She improves every single game. As a pitcher, she’s developed a couple of pitches. She’s a strong pitcher. She approaches pitching the same way she approaches hitting. She hits the ball hard.”

Mya Villanueva batted .516 with one homer and a team-best 27 RBI.

“In this sport, you can only have a good team if you have a strong pitcher and a strong catcher,” Hughes said. “These two are unreal. They have a good relationship with each other. They’re always together. They also motivate each other very much.”

The Cougars’ first baseman is sophomore Mikalya Reimer, who also earned All-Hudson County honors last season. Reimer batted .403 with two homers and 22 RBI.

“She hit one nice bomb at Enos Jones Field (in downtown Jersey City),” Hughes said. “She’s also our backup pitcher. She does a nice job at first.”

The second baseman is senior Catherine Almuete, who started there last year.

“She’s a very steady player,” Hughes said. “She played shortstop her sophomore year, but we moved her to second base last year. She can get after the ball. She makes all the infield plays smoothly.”

The shortstop is senior Hanna Apelizan.

“She’s just a great athlete,” Hughes said. “She played centerfield for us as a sophomore and became the shortstop last year. She bats in the No. 2 hole and is a very serious softball player.”

Apelizan batted .363 with 12 RBI last season.

Sophomore Bianka Cuadra batted .380 with one homer and 19 RBI.

“She’s a very nice player,” Hughes said. “She has all the tools to play any of the infield positions. She swings the bat well. She opened up some eyes last year and has a nice future.”

Sophomore Patricia Okoye is the left fielder.

“She runs very well,” Hughes said. “I have to tell her to walk slowly around the school so (McNair track and field coach) Matt Hogan doesn’t try to scoop her up. She’s really a speed demon.”

Senior Ayanna Young is a former tennis player who also ran track, but now plays softball again and will man centerfield.

“She was with us as a sophomore,” Hughes said. “She felt like she missed playing softball and came back this year. She came out and was ripping the ball before we stopped. I had high hopes for her.”

Sophomore Houda Nasir was the front runner to be the starter in right field.

“She was a bench player with us last year,” Hughes said. “She has potential to add some offense from our right field position.”

Freshman Maddy Castillo is in the mix to be the Cougars’ utility player.

“She plays a little bit of everything,” Hughes said. “She also does a little bit of catching.”

Needless to say, the pieces were all in place for the Cougars to have a solid season.

“We were anticipating another great year,” Hughes said.

The Cougars also have a very recognizable assistant coach in Gene Keohane, the former St. Peter’s Prep and Brown University standout pitcher who was once the head baseball coach at McNair.

“Gene and I were amped up to have a pretty confident team this year,” Hughes said. “We’ll get out there.”

The Cougars are obviously as hopeful as the other local teams looking forward to get the 2020 season rolling – if and when the coronavirus restrictions are lifted.