Based on Lauren Misiaszek’s pedigree, athleticism, work ethic, skills, and even her unflappable personality, there has long been every reason to believe that she’d be a candidate for Division I Softball Player of the Year.
And the new Londonderry High School graduate claimed that prestigious honor recently following a truly stellar senior season in which she helped her Lady Lancers to within two victories of the first state championship in program history.
The highly-skilled second baseman – who has been a constant contributor to LHS varsity softball coach Wayne MacDougall’s Lady Lancer squads since her freshman year – also bagged D-I First-Team All-State honors after batting .500 with a .524 on-base percentage, 26 runs batted in, four home runs, 39 hits, and 30 runs scored.
Misiaszek – who is known to friends and family as Loey – is a part of a family which has contributed some pretty stellar athletes to Londonderry High right back to the school’s earliest days in the late 1970’s.
Her cousin Darryl played on the first two Londonderry High championship baseball squads in 1982 and 1983, and also starred in basketball. Another cousin Mike was a fleet-footed outfielder in the Lancer baseball program before transferring to Trinity High in Manchester to be able to play hockey prior to LHS adopting that sport. And he was one very good hockey player.
But perhaps most importantly and directly, Endicott College-bound Misiaszek is the daughter of former LHS standout football and baseball player Peter Misiaszek, for whom she played softball for years.
“This is her moment, I had mine,” said Peter. “All I will say is that I could not be more proud of my daughter. She is a great daughter, teammate, and person. I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Leading up to this great softball honor as she moves from high school to college, soft-spoken and self-effacing Loey Misiaszek has always let her play do the talking. And her now-former coach MacDougall is pretty pleased to have had her in his lineup for four full and impressive seasons.
“She simply works hard at the game, and of course her dad has always been very supportive, coaching her during the summers for years,” said MacDougall. “She has a great work ethic and great leadership skills, being a team captain and member of our (LHS) Athletic Leadership Council.”
Misiaszek’s 2018 Londonderry High softball teammates who also garnered Division I All-State honors were senior pitcher Ila Brown (First Team), leadoff-hitter extraordinaire and senior infielder Cassidy Raza (Second Team), junior shortstop Alivia Proulx, and sophomore outfielder Gia Komst (both Honorable Mention recipients).
Coach MacDougall was a little miffed at the All-State placements of those latter three players.
“Cassidy and Alivia should have both been First Team, and Gia at least Second Team,” he said.
In moving on to the illustrious Endicott College (Beverly, Mass.) softball program – which has collected some 10 Commonwealth Coast Conference championships and just missed out on number 11 in early May – Misiaszek steps onto a team which went a pretty incredible 30-6 for first-year coach Katie Bettencourt this spring. That team included four seniors and one grad student, but no New Hampshire residents in its talented ranks.
The 2018 New Hampshire Division I Player of the Year intends to study nursing at the Bay State school and help keep the Endicott softball powerhouse a major player in New England collegiate women’s softball.