Hiring Montvidas a good move, but Rebellion still a work in progress

It might sound a bit odd, but the Pennsylvania Rebellion, despite not making the National Pro Fastpitch Championships Series this year, are a much better team than the squad from last year that did make the playoffs.
That’s not going too soothe many souls, considering the Dallas Charge, in their first season of NPF play, are in these playoffs and the Rebellion are not. The Rebellion finished one game behind the Charge for the fourth and final playoff berth, but this was not the chaotic season of 2014.
In case you forgot, last year’s inaugural season for the Rebellion was a mess. Manager Rick Bertagnolli quit 12 games into the season, the roster was filled with many players who were not NPF caliber, the pitching – save for Sarah Pauly – was abysmal, and team speed was nearly non-existent.
That’s how a 9-39 record is forged.
Things needed to change and the Rebellion changed for the better.
Maybe the best move of the offseason was the hiring of manager Craig Montvidas, who brought a steady and calming influence to the chaos. Imagine that, a head coach of the Dutch National Team, who grew up in New Jersey and was drawn into softball while playing baseball in Europe, could turn out to be the savior of this organization.
Through the NPF draft and free-agent signings, the Rebellion became a team more in line with the league: fast, defensive-minded and stuffed with talented pitchers. Montvidas and general manager Steve Zavacky reformed the roster, slicing away 17 players from last season and putting together a squad that won seven more games.
Another season of similar improvements could make this a .500 team. Few, if any, thought that possible after watching last year’s performance.
But there are problems.
The Rebellion again had a so-so draft. They had no first-round pick – traded to the Pride last year in a deal that brought three veterans, including Pauly – but three second rounders. Pitcher Miranda Kramer of Western Kentucky, their first pick in the second round, missed much of the season with an arm problem, outfielder Shelby Davis of Oklahoma State chose not to play as did fourth-round pick Devon Wallace, an infielder from Arkansas, and sixth-rounder Amber Parrish of North Carolina was released after six games.
The Rebellion found two fifth-round gems in pitchers Emma Johnson (4-2, 2.23, 3 saves) of Kent State and Emily Weiman (2-7, 2.67) of North Carolina State.
Free-agent signings brought Emily Fournier of Division III Tufts, who led the team a 1.87 ERA until a last-game blowup. But she still finished with a 1-1 record and 2.80 ERA. Second baseman Haruna Sakamoto, signed out of Japan, might have been the best all-round infielder, and pitcher Haylie Wagner (3-4, 2.60) from Michigan was solid.
The major problem was that the team couldn’t hit a lick.
The team batting average was .214, but that was somewhat inflated by the offensive outburst of the last two games: 22 runs and 25 hits. Most of the season, it hovered near .200. More than anything, the Rebellion need a couple of good hitters in the middle of the lineup. Too many times, runners were left on base when a clutch hit could have turned the tenor of a game. That’s why they lost so many one- and two-run games.
Six players who received extensive playing time hit below .200. No Rebellion player led a major offensive category and the only statistic the team flourished in was hit batters (45) and sacrifice bunts (23).
Maybe no player made the transition from last year better than pitcher Dallas Escobedo, the No. 1 pick in the 2014 draft. Escobedo struggled to a 1-11 record with a whopping 5.83 ERA.
Escobedo returned this season in better physical condition and with a year’s experience. She pared 2 1/2 runs off her ERA and improved in every major category. More important, she became a pitcher the Rebellion envisioned when they drafted her. Her record, 2-9, isn’t a true indicator of how she pitched.
That will be the key for next season. Most of this team should return intact, more experienced and with more expected out of it. They need a better draft and coax Davis, a speedy outfielder and good hitter, to play. Then, reaching .500 ball won’t be just a dream.
For the patient fans who turned out in good numbers at Consol Energy Park, it would be a nice reward.
Assistant sports editor Joe Tuscano can be reached at jtuscano@observer-reporter.com.