It’s hard to keep track of all the theories as to why Steinert’s softball team won its record-setting fourth straight NJSIAA Group III state championship.
Talent, discipline, work ethic, teamwork. All that stuff was on display in a 6-2 win over North Hunterdon on June 10 at Newark’s Ivy Hill Park.
But the thing most often heard after games was that the girls were playing for each other.
It’s called selflessness, and Lindsey Siwczak may have been the shining example.
With a .427 average, the junior left fielder was one of three Spartans to hit over .400. The other two, Mia Pope and Bianca Walsh, hit in the glamour spots of leadoff and third in the lineup.
Despite her numbers, Siwczak batted ninth.
And didn’t care one bit.
“I batted there my first two years and I think that worked well and that’s what was best for our team,” she said. “Having great batters behind me to move me on the basepaths I think that was the best spot for me.”
Not a lot of .400 hitters would say that. Then again, they don’t play on a four-time state champion.
“Umpires would say to me after the game, ‘Uh, why is she batting nine?’ and I said, ‘You don’t fix what’s not broken, sir.’ She’s resetting the tone for our lineup. Does she deserve to be higher up? Yes, and that time will come, but her role this year was what was needed.
“That’s what’s great. Kids might get upset about being nine when she could be a two-hole girl with what she was doing. But there was never a question from her about it; just nothing but support. We have girls that realize what their goal is and they’re willing to buy in.”
And therein lies one of the major intangibles for a program that set the public school record for consecutive championships and won its seventh overall.
A team of stars could include a team of egos, but somehow Melker and her coaching staff manage to gather each girl under the Spartan umbrella, where nothing else matters but stopping the opponent’s rain on their collective parade.
It starts with a veteran staff of Michelle Walsh, Carli Backlund, JV coach Sam Dice, Mike Melker, who is Jenn’s dad, and Geri “Bear” Leone, who made guest appearances this year due to maternity leave. Their cohesiveness rubs off on the team.
“Geri popped in when she could,” Melker said. “Sam has done a great job with our JV, getting the girls who are coming up ready to go. Half the JV team came to states to support us. And with Walsh and Carli, I don’t think our girls realize the education they’re getting for free that people pay a lot of money for outside of Steinert softball. And they love my dad, they call him the Melker Man, the Team Dad.”
There is also the team granddad, 85-year-old George Przecha. Known to the team as Pop Pop, Przecha is Backlund’s grandfather, who has followed Carli and her brother throughout their careers. When Backlund became a coach, the staff awarded him an honorary seat in the dugout.
“He has been along for the ride since Carli played for me and (former head coach Jean Ruppert),” Melker said. “When he can’t be there he has it on the TV with his lucky cap. The girls love having him around, he is so supportive.”
Pop Pop is indicative of what truly is the Spartan family.
It is what has helped make them 24-0 in state tournament games over the past four seasons.
It is what enabled them to blow out some teams and squeeze by others, such as a 1-0 nail-biter over Middletown South in the Central Jersey Group III final.
It is how they fell behind, 1-0, after one batter against both Colts Neck in the CJ III semifinals and North Hunterdon in the state final and managed to come back without a flinch.
In the final, junior center fielder Danica Spak lined a leadoff single in the third that led to three runs, two on Bianca Walsh’s double.
“When I got that hit it felt kind of special,” Spak said. “Like it was meant for me because I got to lead off that inning and I knew we just needed that one spark and everything would fly after that. When I got to third I knew Ellie (Miller) would get me in, and from there Bianca. It was just insane.”
Later in the game, sophomore Victoria “Big Game” Poppert hit a two-run home run and Mia Pope doubled and was driven in by Walsh. Miller threw a four-hitter, Walsh snared a line drive when it was 3-2 that could have changed the momentum, and Steinert softball became the first program in school history to win four straight state titles.
“It’s so crazy to me, and honestly it’s such a blessing,” Spak said. “I’m so lucky to have the team I do. And getting to play with those girls it’s always a good game.”
Spak’s sister, Makenna, was a senior when Steinert started its record run in 2023. She had no idea what she and her classmates started.
“At the time, winning that first one felt like such a huge accomplishment,” Makenna said. “Never would I have imagined them going and winning it three more times. And being back to back shows how dedicated and passionate everyone playing was. I’m so proud to be able to say I was a part of this run and helped light the spark for others to follow.”
Siwczak was still processing it a few days later.
“It feels surreal, it feels crazy, it hasn’t really hit yet,” she said. “Just knowing our talent and what we did, it just feels incredible.”
Siwczak, Spak, slick-fielding third baseman Aleiya O’Neal and catcher Francesca Castellano were all junior starters who will return next year, along with designated hitter Poppert and freshman first baseman Madison Milton. Freshman flex/right fielder Lauren Miller also returns, along with sophomore Aleena Eckel, who tied for third on the team in runs scored as a courtesy runner.
While seniors Walsh, Pope and Miller have rightfully gotten the headlines for their never-ending success, they couldn’t have done it without the underclassmen, who will provide a strong nucleus next season.
Melker could already see the leadership qualities forming in Spak, O’Neal and Castellano.
“We have so much talent but because Mia, Ellie and Bianca stand out, we have girls in the shadows,” Melker said. “Francesca is your level-headed, calm leader, showing up in the moment, doing what she needs to do. She doesn’t have to be loud in your face.
“Whereas Aleiya is your more ‘I’m gonna cheer, I’m gonna do what needs to be done, I’m gonna get them going.’ And Danica shows up in both areas all the time. It’s like replacing the three (seniors) the best way possible, where all three will fall into those different roles.”
And then there are the even younger standouts.
“Poppert, everyone kind of looks at her batting average and says it’s not that high but she comes up big in situations when it’s needed,” Melker said. “I can’t believe how many times she’s come up big for us on the stage where, if we’re not doing it, we’re going home.
“Maddie Milton definitely gave me more than I thought but if I’m being honest, after the first five minutes of tryouts the coaches looked at each other and were like, ‘OK, she’s got the mindset, she buys in, she listens.’”
Which is further reinforcement of how the players consistently respect their coaches, no matter their past success.
“It speaks volumes to a kid, they’re already talented, they’ve been playing their whole lives, but sometimes mechanics get lost,” Melker said. “So when they show up they’ve got their own set of ways to do things, and we’re trying to tweak things or change things to better them. Some kids struggle buying into that. We say one thing to Maddie and she tries to do exactly what we say and believe in it.”
And then there is what has become the CVC’s, and maybe the state’s, gold standard of a senior trio, which went 92-18 overall and 24-0 in state tournament games. Melker is 157-31 in seven seasons and 35-3 in the state tournament.
Marist-bound Pope finished second in CVC career hits and this year hit .442 with 12 doubles, three triples, two home runs, 18 stolen bases and 41 runs. TCNJ-bound Walsh hit .454 with 11 doubles and 37 RBIs. Drexel-bound Miller was 22-3 with a 1.17 ERA and 218 strikeouts, and allowed just 17 hits and four runs while striking out 46 in state tournament games.
They didn’t set the example. They were the example.
“They were some of the best leaders I ever had,” Siwczak said. “They knew how to get people locked in when they weren’t, and still have fun throughout the game and know what we can do on the field. You learn from them; you realize it’s a team sport and if you’re not doing well your teammates back you up.”
Spak found them incomparable.
“There’s really nobody like them,” she said. “They held the team together, they were our glue and I don’t think we’d have been able to do it without them.”
Melker has gushed several rivers worth of praise about the three stars, and now comes the toughest word of all: goodbye.
“This is a tough one, I’ve been emotional all weekend,” she said while walking the Harvey Cedars beach two days after the win. “Me and coach Walsh looked at each other, and we celebrated just as hard as the others but this one was a little bittersweet. We’re celebrating but these three seniors, just to do what they’ve done. … They’ve shown up every year, even as freshmen they were showing up.”
They led the way during a season that featured incredible pressure. It ain’t easy chasing history.
But that pressure came from parents, fans and media, not from within. Prior to the North Hunterdon game, with the Spartans on the precipice, Melker put it in perspective.
“I asked them, ‘What was the difference between round one of the states and the state final?’ and they said, ‘Well there’s a trophy on the line,’” the coach remarked. “I said, ‘Yes, but there was a trophy on the line in that first state game.’ Every single game has been that same mindset of once you’re in the states if you lose then you’re done. So why make the final game any different pressure than the first game?
“You have to have that mindset of focusing on one pitch at a time and one ball at a time, one minute at a time and just being where your feet are in that moment, just playing the game you love.”
Siwczak felt the players adopted that attitude well.
“We tried to leave (setting a record) in the back of our minds and just do what we know how to do and when we do that it works well because we play to our best ability,” she said. “We try to block out what other people say. Every team we play is just another game to us.”
North Hunterdon was not just another game, of course, but Spak didn’t mind a few jitters.
“There’s always some nerves and we always feel pressure but pressure is good because it means you care,” she said. “I think some of us were a little nervous but we wanted to play so bad, we hadn’t played since Monday and we knew it would be our last game together so we just wanted to do it for each other.”
Another part of the secret.
Do it for each other and do great things.
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