Molloy takes long road to softball World Series

It's been a seasonlong road trip for the Molloy softball team.

With no home field, the Lions were forced to play all of their games on the road.

For a team with six freshmen, including four who play a major role, that could have been a problem.

Not so for the Lions, who by virtue of two wins over New Haven in an NCAA Super Regional Saturday, advanced to the NCAA Division II World Series in St. Joseph, Mo., beginning Thursday.

Led by freshman lefthander Megan Butterworth, who tossed two straight shutouts, Molloy (43-19) has been moving full-speed ahead since the season started.

"It was a little difficult," Butterworth said of playing on the road. "We had to travel to practice every day." Molloy is hoping to have its field at Bay Park in Rockville Centre ready for its season-opener next spring.

Butterworth struck out 13 batters with no walks in the two wins (2-0 and 1-0).

Butterworth wasn't the only Long Island product helping the Lions reach the promised land.

She lauded the play of several of her teammates, including fellow Holy Trinity graduates Jeana Frey and Carla Campagna.

Frey, a freshman, is hitting .399 with nine stolen bases, and sophomore Campagna has a team-leading 15 home runs and 62 RBIs.

So did anyone think Molloy would be this good with so much youth?

"I knew we had a great lineup and I knew we would be good," Butterworth said. "But getting this far was a pretty big surprise."

Things weren't always smooth for the Lions. Their season was on the brink after a 6-5 loss to the same New Haven team on Friday.

A second loss would've ended the season. "We were pretty down, but we had a great team meeting," Butterworth said. "Basically, we had to come back and play our game."

And now it's on to the World Series. Dreyer caps career with big speech

No way to top this: E.J. Dreyer's athletic and academic careers ended in grand fashion as she was named Molloy's valedictorian.

A four-year starter on Molloy's women's basketball team, Dreyer earned All-ECC second-team honors. The Floral Park resident helped lead the Lions (22-8) to their first-ever NCAA East Regional semifinal.

Dreyer, a nursing major, achieved a 4.0 GPA.

Commencement is 6 p.m. Monday at Nassau Coliseum.