Moorestown High School softball pitcher Violet Marta broke the Quakers’ record this year for strikeouts, an accomplishment her teammates celebrated after a recent game.
“ … We were all sitting down in a circle after our talk, and then Mulv (head coach Bill Mulvihill) brings out this banner, and I thought it was going to be our league banner because we won,” Marta recalled. “And then I see a picture of me on it. I was like, ‘What is that?’ And then he said that I broke the school record.”
“I was just really excited about that.”
Marta is entering her senior year but has played softball since she was young. Her sister Lily, a Moorestown High student, also plays on the school team. When she’s not playing or practicing, Violet Marta enjoys baking and visiting the Mount Laurel Animal Hospital to help feed the animals.
Marta’s athletic career began when her dad signed her up for T-ball, a sport that quickly grew on her.
“I went to sign up and I had a total breakdown because I didn’t want to play at all,” she noted. “But then as soon as I started playing, I loved it.”
The Quakers ended the 2023 season with a record of 21-5, and for a team of mostly juniors, Marta believes it was a good year for everyone to grow into their positions.
“Everyone was still developing, and I think everyone just got better this year, and our team chemistry helped out with that,” she explained. “We won our first league championship …
“Now Moorestown High School gets its first banner for girls softball, which is really exciting.”
Marta had 121 strikeouts in her freshman year; 123 strikeouts in sophomore year; and 222 strikeouts in her junior year, for a total of 466. In batting, she had 22 hits as a freshman year; 28 as a sophomore year; and 29 as a junior year, a total of 79. She had seven home runs this year and four in 2022 and was also recently named to the All-South Jersey All-Star team by the South Jersey Girls Softball Association.
“The biggest thing that I’ve improved on this year – besides the strikeouts – is the number of walks that I’ve had,” Marta said. “You don’t want to walk a lot of people as a pitcher, because that’s when a lot of stuff gets messy … That’s part of the reason why I think, as pitching, I had such a low ERA (earned run average) this year, because my walks were down.”
If Marta and her teammates have learned anything from their coaches, it’s about sticking together on and off the field.
“Mulv has taught me a lot this year about how to be a good leader and support the whole entire team, and making everyone feel comfortable and believe in themselves,” she pointed out.
Marta looks forward to the team bringing home a championship next year.
“ … We really thrive off of people coming to our games … ” she offered. “We’re a really close team, and I think that we want to win and we’re all going to be there for each other.”
“We’re all just really excited for the next season.”
