S. Jersey softball showdown put on hold again

Some South Jersey softball fans had been looking forward to seeing how Absegami pitcher Kelly Lupton would do against Sterling ace Sarah Almasy on Saturday in the quarterfinals of the Overbrook Tournament.

A Cape-Atlantic League hurler with huge potential, Lupton hasn't made a name for herself in Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester Counties.

However, rain once again washed away the competition, which has been pushed back to Saturday. The tournament had been postponed from the previous Saturday.

Almasy is 8-1 with a 1.23 ERA and 40 strikeouts. The senior was instrumental in defeating No. 1 Gloucester Catholic, 3-1, on April 18.

Absegami, which has one senior in the starting lineup, relies on Lupton, a power pitcher and hitter who is surrounded mostly by fellow juniors.

Lupton is someone special in the circle and at the plate. She is 7-3 with a 1.03 ERA, four shutouts, and a no-hitter. Batting third in the lineup, she is hitting .500 and leads the team in extra-base hits.

Well known in the Cape American Division I, in which the Braves are 5-0, Lupton should be the subject of conversation throughout softball circles in South Jersey by season's end. She is a flamethrower.

"I like striking them out," Lupton said. "When the field doesn't have to do that much, there's less room for errors."

The overpowering 15-year-old is aiming for the school's career strikeout record of 196 set by Amber Beauchemin in 2008. Lupton has 117 strikeouts with about 11/2 seasons to go.

"Around Thanksgiving until early March, she was hitting 65, 66 m.p.h.," said private pitching coach Tom Besser. "She has increased her speed four, five miles [per hour] the last couple years, and if she keeps working hard, she can get to 70."

That's a number that few pitchers have reached, and location becomes an issue the faster the ball is thrown.

"I'm getting more accurate," said Lupton, who has unintentionally hit some batters this season. "I've been with Besser for four years now, and he has taught me about getting speed and location.

"My best pitch is my curve. I have a rise, fastball, and change-up, also a screw and a drop."

Absegami coach Pat Esemplare says Lupton has been wild at times, but that didn't stop the Jersey Intensity Gold U-16 travel team, one of the best in the state, from inviting her to become a member recently.

Esemplare said he believes that as Lupton becomes more accurate and learns how to mix pitches, she will be coveted by Division I programs.

Lupton, a science buff, said she would like to attend college somewhere warm, such as Florida, where her family ships newborn foals. An equestrian, the Galloway resident tosses bales of hay on the family-run horse farm and rides one of her four horses competitively.

Besser says that throwing those bales has helped the 5-foot-9 Lupton develop arm strength that has made her a power pitcher and hitter.

"She is an exceptionally strong human being, and she is quick," Besser said. "She has strong forearms, and before you know it, the glove pops [when she throws]. She won't have the wear and tear other kids will have, not that smaller kids can't do it, but they can't do it [throw hard] as long."