BRIDGEWATER -- More than 400 career wins and 25 years later, Bridgewater-Rayham High softball head coach Mike Carrozza is still facing new challenges.
Tryouts and practices for the 2025 spring season began two weeks ago. In total, Carrozza said that there were 24 players in total who came out, which will be split between the varsity and junior varsity teams. With players needed to fill out both rosters, B-R will not field a freshman team this season.
Typically, Carrozza likes to operate the program like a farm system, taking no more than one or two freshman onto the varsity roster, and letting some of the younger underclassmen develop on junior varsity.
In recent seasons, Carrozza has not had that luxury. Last year, the varsity team had nine freshman on the roster out of necessity. As a result, the junior varsity team needed to call up several eighth graders to field a team.
Despite the inexperience, the Trojans earned the No. 13 seed in Div. 1 and made it to the Round of 16 in the state tournament.
"It was a learning experience last year," Carrozza said. "I'm looking forward to this year that they're going to step up and be a little more improved than they were last year."
This year's roster features only two seniors, captains Olivia Roy and Lily Berman. The entire infield will be made up of underclassmen, with Roy and Berman patrolling the outfield.
"It's good that someone else stuck with it," Berman said, referring to Roy. "Olivia has always been there."
The two seniors have played together for the better part of 12 years, and have known each other for even longer, through town clubs and other extracurriculars such as Girl Scouts. As the lone senior captains, it's fitting that they will play side by side with Berman playing in left and Roy at center field.
