Koshmider back at helm of Garaway softball program
Longtime Garaway softball coach Dennis Koshmider returned to guide the Lady Pirates after several years away from a program he helped build into one of the area’s top systems. The Lady P’s came out firing, collecting a win over three-time defending Division IV state champion Strasburg.
Dennis Koshmider has been an instrumental part of building the Garaway softball program, having built some formidable teams over the past decades.
After taking some time away from the program, he returned this season, and his team took a giant step with an early-season victory.
The Lady Pirates defeated Strasburg 5-1 on Saturday, March 29 in Strasburg, combining an opportunistic offense with solid defense and pitching, and that effort enabled Garaway to come out on top of a Tigers team that entered the season as the three-time defending Division IV state champions.
While any team loves to celebrate its victories, this one that came over such a prestigious opponent seems like it would set the table for a raucous celebration.
However, Koshmider said they tried to not get too emotionally invested in any celebrating.
“It’s obviously a really nice win over an amazing program, the defending state champions the past three seasons, and while we were excited, it’s so early on in the season that you don’t want to put too much emphasis on it,” Koshmider said.
The longtime coach said his team isn’t playing at the level it wants to be yet this early in the spring, and he is certain Strasburg’s early-season woes (0-3) will be a thing of the past as the season progresses and they get rolling like they always do.
“That’s a Strasburg team that will only get better and better and be where they want to be at the end of the season come tournament time,” Koshmider said. “At the same time, we’ve got plenty of things to work on too to improve.”
He said he is more excited to see a young team with no seniors and little varsity experience improving, and that is the main goal.
Sophomore pitcher Audrey Miller earned her second win of the season, keeping the Tiger offense off balance all afternoon, firing a three-hitter while striking out eight.
Garaway took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. A one-out single by Krista Miller put the first Pirate on base for the day. With two out, True Tango smashed a double to right field, driving in Miller.
Garaway finally took charge in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded, Audrey Miller put Garaway up 2-0 when she dropped a single into short left field, and Garaway scored again on an error for a 3-0 lead.
The Lady Pirates tacked on a pair of insurance runs to take a 5-0 lead in the seventh on a Kayla Miller RBI single to drive in a run, and Tango later scored on a passed ball.
Audrey Miller would cough up her lone run in the seventh but put the game in the win column for the Lady Pirates with her outstanding effort.
With the win the Pirates move to 2-1 for the season.
Koshmider returned to Garaway, where he led many Garaway teams to successful seasons. While he had been assisting the program at Hiland the past couple of years, he said he never fully left following the Garaway program, where he had helped build it into a dominant area program.
“I enjoyed being at Hiland but still kept track of what was going on at Garaway,” Koshmider said. “I feel fortunate to get back to a place where I have been for so long.”
Koshmider said he has known many in the current group of varsity players from their younger days in the youth program and said returning to coach them was something that was exciting enough to bring him back to Garaway.
With this signature win now under their belt, Koshmider said the Lady Pirates won’t dwell on it but will use it to understand they can compete with the best programs around. At the same time, he said they understand there is still plenty of growth and improvement to come, and that is what is truly exciting.