There was a new look for the Moravian softball team in 2023.

Well, sort of.

At the end of the 2022 season, legendary Greyhounds head coach John Byrne retired after 29 years and 923 career victories. Replacing Byrne was a familiar face to Moravian softball: Byrne’s longtime assistant and Moravian alum, Josh Baltz.

Baltz had served as Byrne’s top assistant for six years, so he was well prepared to take over the top spot. He knew that consistency was a key item in the success of a program, so he was intent in keeping the coaching staff intact. Longtime assistants Amy Rodgers, Leah Holmes, Justine Rossi, and Josie Novak would continue to lead the Hounds. Josh was also able to add former Hound and All-American catcher, Janae Matos (Catasauqua) to his staff.

“Big shoes to fill” seemed like the appropriate task facing Baltz in his first year as head coach. With only two seniors and 11 freshmen on his 23 person roster, success would not come easy, but he was more than ready for the challenge.

The season began with the team’s annual spring trip to Winter Haven, Florida. Maybe it was an indication of this team’s potential, as the Hounds gave Baltz his first victory with a 4-1 win over Chatham University in their first game of the 2023 campaign.

Sophomore pitcher Madi Cunningham (Whitehall) also added to the optimism, as she hurled her first career no-hitter.

The team finished that 10-game Florida tour with a 7-3 record as they headed home to Bethlehem, Baltz and his staff saw some good things for this team under the Florida sun, and they were cautiously optimistic this success could continue.

“I wasn’t thinking World Series, but I thought a Landmark Conference championship was a possibility,” he admitted.

Over the next two months, this young team continued to gel and mature, developing an attitude of determination that all good teams need to possess. Never losing back-to-back games after Florida, the Hounds ended the regular season as the Landmark Conference champions. That title earned them the privilege of hosting the Landmark Conference tournament.

As the host team, they made quick work of the other three conference opponents, and they now laid claim to the conference championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA Division 3 tournament. With over 400 Division 3 softball teams, only 62 make the NCAA postseason tournament.

Baltz and the Hounds were continuing the winning tradition of Moravian softball.

A team loaded with youth at the start of the season grew up fast – and most importantly – they grew together.

The postseason awards supported this statement, as six Hounds garnered First Team All Conference honors: Cunningham (Pitcher) was joined by Marci Silberman (Catcher; Salisbury), Holly Walter (Third Base; Southern Lehigh), Sage Snyder (Outfield; North Warren, New Jersey), Emily Silberman (Designated Player; Salisbury), and Mya Zettlemoyer (Utility; Allentown Central Catholic).

Sophomore Ajala Elmore (Shortstop; Wilmington Friends, Delaware) and Freshman Sarah DiStefano (Pitcher; Hunterdon Central, New Jersey) were Second Team selections. DiStefano was also named the Conference Rookie of the Year.

The Regional round of the NCAA tournament had the Hounds traveling to Massachusetts to the campus of host and Seventh-ranked Tufts University. Cabrini College and Husson University (Maine) were the other participants in this double elimination round. An opening win over Cabrini led to a showdown with Tufts, and it turned into a best-of-three series, with the Hounds coming out on top and earning a berth in the Super Regional for the following weekend.

DiStefano was selected as the Regional tournament’s Outstanding Player; an easy choice as she beat Tufts twice, only allowing one run in the process. She was joined on the All Tournament Team by Cunningham, Marci Silberman, and first baseman Lindsey Gawrys (Whitehall).

A week later, it was back to Massachusetts for the Super Regional and the best-of-three against host M.I.T. For the second weekend in a row, Baltz and his Hounds would face off against a nationally ranked team, as the Engineers entered the postseason 16th in the NFCA poll. It posed another challenge that this team was eager to take on.

The opening game found the Hounds on the wrong end of a 5-1 score. With their backs to the wall, the Hounds would have to defeat the Engineers twice the next day if their season was to continue.

This time, it was Madi Cunningham’s turn to shine in the circle, pitching both games as the Hounds dominated M.I.T. with 5-2 and 8-0 scores. Cunningham’s outstanding performance – she only threw a total of 90 pitches in the two games – earned her the tournament’s Outstanding Pitcher Award. Her teammate, Sage Snyder, was named the tournament’s Outstanding Player.

The victories meant the Hounds would be one of the eight remaining Division 3 softball teams that would be playing in the World Series vying for a national championship.

This year’s tournament would be played in Marshall, Texas, on the campus of East Texas Baptist University. The well-traveled Hounds were more than happy to trade in their long bus rides for the chance to fly, though weather issues made the trip a bit of a nightmare.

Arriving in Texas, the Hounds found themselves seeded eighth in the eight-team tournament, which meant their opening game would pit them against their old nemesis, the top-seeded Sea Gulls of Salisbury University (Maryland). Ignoring their seed, the Hounds went out and opened the World Series with a 4-1 win. Cunningham, once again, led the way, going the distance in the circle and contributing a two-run double at the plate.

With the victory, the Hounds would move on to play Berry College of Georgia. Berry was a participant in the 2022 Division 3 World Series, and in a “small world” scenario, both teams were being coached by a former Greyhound and Coach Byrne assistant – Jessica Strong for Berry and Baltz for the Hounds.

The Berry Vikings had the upper hand in this game, and earned an 8-1 win, pushing the Hounds into the elimination bracket.

In the elimination game the next day, the Hounds would face another nationally ranked team and another participant from the 2022 Division 3 World Series, the Thunder of Trine University (Indiana). Weather, as it turned out, would become the real opponent, as the 1:30 p.m. scheduled start was pushed back over six hours.

When the game finally got underway, Trine wasted no time in putting runs on the board, scoring four runs in each of the first two innings. The Hounds kept pushing, but it was a big hole to dig out of, and they saw their magical season come to an end with a 12-4 loss.

So what began in Winter Haven, Florida, in late February, would end in Marshall, Texas, in early June at the Division 3 Softball World Series.

First-year head coach Josh Baltz might not have predicted the season would go this way, but he was not complaining.

Watching his young team grow up and grow together enabled him to have a very enjoyable and satisfying first season as the top Hound. In fact, when asked if he could use a few words to describe the season, he responded, “Enjoyable, is the first word that comes to mind.”

He could take further enjoyment knowing that in addition to the previously mentioned players who earned All-Conference honors, three of his players earned NFCA All-Region honors: Cunningham (Pitcher, First Team); DiStefano (Pitcher/Outfielder, Second Team); and Mari Silberman (Catcher, Second Team).

What about the future? Well, considering the fact that the starting lineup for the Hounds throughout the World Series consisted of three juniors, five sophomores, and two freshmen, the future is bright.

Seven returning players finished the season with a batting average well over .300. Pitchers Cunningham and DiStefano, who combined to get 35 of the teams 38 victories and both finished with ERAs of just over 2.00, will return to toe the rubber in the circle, providing Baltz more reason to be excited about next season and beyond.

Yes, Greyhound softball did indeed shine in 2023, and there is plenty of reason to think that the shine will continue for years to come.