Cappello is a rare breed as far as her travelling softball team, the Peconic Lions, are concerned. The pitcher and second baseman, in her second year with Peconic, is the team's only Islander and quite possibly the only Lion who came into the summer season having played boys baseball.

“Samantha is a natural and loves the game so much she played this year on the [Shelter Island junior high] boys baseball team when there was no school softball team this past season,” Ms. Drake said.

Cappello played second base for the Indians, although Ms. Drake said there was some talk about Cappello pitching. She did not want to. “She just wanted to play,” Ms. Drake said. “She didn't want to stand out on the boys team.”

She performed capably in the field and at bat, forcing opposing pitchers to work deep into counts, sometimes fouling off pitch after pitch until she got one she liked. By season's end, she received compliments from Hampton Bays' coaches for being able to hit their best pitcher. Ms. Drake said the umpires complimented Cappello as well.

“We were really proud of her,” Ms. Drake said. “That says a lot too” about Shelter Island Coach Peter Miedema who “put her at second base because he knew she could play.”

That was a lesson her opponents eventually learned, but she did face teasing for much of the season. “She didn't let it get to her,” Ms. Drake said. “She just took it and rolled it off her back. But I think they shut up toward the end when they realized she can play.”

She added, “To go outside the box, in spite of all the challenges she faced being on the boys team, for the love she has for the game, says a lot about her character.”

Cappello can play baseball but her heart is in softball, a sport she has been playing since she was 5 years old. She still has the T-shirt from the first team she ever played on, the Pepper Girls. Ms. Drake said her daughter has always loved the sport, always wanted to play.

And she never pushed her daughter to participate in sports. It is something Cappello pushes herself to do. She asked for a pitching net to practice by herself outside. When the weather does not cooperate, “She takes the ball and whales it against the basement wall,” Ms. Drake said. “That's how she practices. It's pretty funny.”

The noise emanating from downstairs does not bother her at all. Instead, it makes her happy, especially when she watches Cappello pitch. “It's actually fun to watch her now,” Ms. Drake said, even though she thinks pitcher is “the most nerve-wracking position.”

Sometimes that causes Ms. Drake to cover her eyes. But when Ms. Drake's eyes are open, what she sees leaves an enormous impression. “She was always so self-motivated to do it on her own,” Ms. Drake, who was never into sports herself, said. “I honestly don't even know where she gets it from.”

Part of that can be attributed to her first Shelter Island softball coach, Darrin Binder, who, Ms. Drake said, taught her to pitch and would work with her after practice. That led to Cappello's request for the pitching net. Since then, “She works her butt off,” Ms. Drake said.

Later this summer, Cappello plans to take advanced pitching lessons. In the meantime, she will continue developing her pitching skills on the mound. The Lions' next home game is on Tuesday, July 7 at Tasker Field in Peconic.

Ms. Drake said she thinks her daughter could have an athletic career. “She loves it,” Ms. Drake said. “She never wants to stop.”

What Cappello has accomplished so far has made her family proud. Ms. Drake wants to see the glow of those achievements extend further. “[Samantha] is very focussed when it comes to sports and hopefully other girls from the Island can be inspired by her determination.”

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samantha capello : 7/15/2009
You keep going Sam. Keep the bar high and keep reaching. You are seting a great example!

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