By Andy Walter

GEORGETOWN — Kandice Schlabach had hits home runs before.

But there was something about this one that caught the attention of the Delmarva Christian softball standout.

This homer came in her first at-bat of the season and just felt effortless.

“I was like, I didn’t know I could do that,” said Schlabach. “I just wasn’t expecting it.”

By the time the game was over, Schlabach had homered three more times. And by the time the season was over, she had smacked 16 home runs with 43 RBI and 32 runs scored.

Schlabach’s big season earned the 17-year-old Greenwood native the distinction of being the Royals’ first first-team All-Stater in softball.

Today, the recent Delmarva Christian grad will try to help Delaware South contend in the Carpenter Cup title on the second day of the regional tournament for high school players in Philadelphia. The downstaters are slated to play three games at FDR Park, near the Phillies Citizens‘ Bank Park, facing Chester County (Pa.) at noon, Jersey Shore at 4 p.m. and Mid Penn at 6 p.m.

The top two squads from both Monday and Tuesday return for a double-elimination championship bracket on Wednesday.

After hitting a total of only six homers in her first two high school seasons, Schlabach really took off as a senior. Of her 41 hits this spring, 26 went for extra bases.

She twice hit four homers in a contest while belting three in another. She also hit .641 for the season and .563 for her career.

But Delmarva Christian coach Keith Stonebraker said he wasn’t surprised by the youngster’s breakout season. He’d seen that potential in practice all along during her career.

Stonebraker remembers a pre-season hitting drill in 2020 when Schlabach and his daughter, Ashlyn, were both hitting the ball hard.

“It was like every ball the two of them hit was a home run,” said Stonebraker. “I looked over and everybody on the team stopped and watched just what these two were doing.

“And it never stopped this year with Kandice. She’d be taking BP and the other girls would just stop and watch her just to see how far she was going to hit a ball. It would just be unreal sometimes. You couldn’t help but just to be in awe of it.

“Every time she stepped to the plate, I expected her to hit a ball out,” he added. “She just has that kind of power.”

While Schlabach, who made honorable mention All-State as a freshman, always put up good hitting numbers for the Royals, Stonebraker thought a change in her defensive position as a sophomore might have effected her confidence.

Normally an outfielder, Stonebraker needed her at shortstop two years ago. While Schlabach readily made the switch to help the team, Stonebraker thought it effected her game overall.

“I think it kind of got in her head a little bit,” he said. “She had a decent year but nowhere near what she was cable of.”

“Sophomore year was the year I probably struggled the most, for some reason,” said Schlabach.

Even though the 2020 season was canceled by the pandemic, Schlabach was still able to work with her hitting coach. She came back this spring stronger and believing in her abilities.

“This year I was able to be confident against any pitchers, no matter who it was,” she said. “Their speed or spin, it didn’t matter. I was able to hit well in important moments — when we needed a big hit.

“Sophomore year, I would kind of let the pressure get to me more. It would really get in my head. But this year I was able to push that out and focus on my swing.”

With sophomore pitcher Lilli Showacre making third-team All-State, the Royals finished 12-6 this season and posted their first DIAA state tournament win.

In the fall, Schlabach will head to Delaware Tech to play for the Roadrunners, who won another junior college regional title this spring. But Stonebreaker doesn’t think there’s any question Schlabach will end up at a four-year school before her college career is over.

He thinks she’s only starting to show how good a hitter she can be. Stonebraker first met Schlabach when she was 10.

“She’s phenomenal athlete but she’s a better kid,” he said. “I know that’s easy for people to say but I genuinely think that when I’m talking about her. ... She’s one of those kids that you look back at some point in your career and say, ‘Man, I was blessed to have that one.’”

“There’s always room for improvement,” said Schlabach. “I can always get better. I just always want to be the best player I can be.”

Notes

Delaware South has won the Carpenter Cup four times since the tourney started in 2005. The last time the downstate squad won the title was in 2018. ... Besides Schlabach, the rest of this year’s Delaware South roster includes Laurel’s Kylee Hill, Carlie Venables and Couri Smith; Indian River’s Jillian Collins and Kinsley Hall; Delmar’s Josie Hollamon and Zoey Coco; Sussex Central’s Madge Layfield and McKenna Boyle; along with Showacre (Delmarva Christian), Torian Rayfield (Seaford and Izabella Raughley (Dover).