Marissa Scarano started playing softball when she was about five years old. When she reached seventh grade, she was a starter for Newburgh’s softball team.

“Really surprised,” said Scarano, now in eighth grade. “I didn’t think I was going to make JV.”

She is now starting in her second season with the Goldbacks, and she is starting in centerfield and gets the engine running as the lead-off hitter.

“She showed flashes of brilliance at times last year,” said Chris Leggett, Newburgh’s coach. “She has grown (this season), (with) a power surge.”

Scarano is a left-handed hitter, and she singled to open the game last week during a 4-1 home loss to Kingston. She is a speedy lead off hitter with power, and she’s hit three home runs this season.

Her speed helps her in the outfield, but she needs to improve her throwing accuracy to help get runners out.

“Defensively, she can track down any ball in centerfield,” said Leggett. “She gets to everything.”

Scarano had a season of varsity ball when she stepped into the batter’s box this season for the first time. And this season she’s settled down at the plate as she tries to handle varsity pitching.

“I am still nervous,” she said, “but I am more comfortable in the box.”

She enjoys playing the game, and she knows she needs to improve her throwing accuracy from centerfield. But she is a threat at the plate, and she’ll be needed during her next four seasons to help keep the offense moving and possibly rolling for the Goldbacks.

Hitting demands a lot of practice, and Scarano said she has dealt with the inconsistency this season that all hitters face.

“It’s getting better,” she said, of her hitting, “but I was off in the middle of the season.”