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When Liz Negron arrived at St. Thomas Aquinas High School, she knew that her opportunities to pitch for the softball team would be limited behind Hayley Wieczerzak, who fanned 760 batters in her prodigious scholastic career.
In an effort to get on the field by any means necessary, she began playing shortstop when the team needed one, doing so at an All-Area level, biding her time awaiting her turn in the circle.
With Wieczerzak’s graduation, Negron returned to pitching fulltime this season and led the Trojans to their sixth Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title in seven years. For her dominance in the circle and at the plate, and her leadership on the field and off, Liz Negron is the Home News Tribune Softball Player of the Year.
“They were definitely big shoes to fill, Hayley was a great pitcher, so it was already set at a high bar,” said Negron, who began pitching at the age of 6. “At first, I was feeling the pressure going into it, but I knew that my team had my back and they would make me the player that I’m supposed to be. As time went on, I felt more comfortable and I felt that I really could take on that role and I think I did the best I could and I’m proud of what I did.”
“She did get a lot of experience last year so I felt that she was definitely ready and she built a lot of her confidence in herself,” St. Thomas coach Missy Collazo said. “I’m very happy with the way she pitched, she got us through a lot of tough games. And, offensively, she was amazing as well.”
ALL-AREA 2025: Links to the Courier News and Home News Tribune All-Area softball honors package
More: VOTE NOW! Who is your choice for Central Jersey Softball Player of the Year?
The senior right-hander did not see the circle as a freshman, before tossing 30 innings as a sophomore. She compiled a 1.75 ERA in 60 innings and an 8-2 record as a junior, capped by a two-hitter over Camden Catholic in the state tournament, in which she retired the first 16 batters.
As a senior, Negron went 18-4 with a 1.91 ERA, 187 strikeouts and 53 walks in 129 1/3 innings. She was just as fierce at the plate, batting .400 with 32 hits, 29 RBIs and five home runs. Her career ERA is 1.91 and her batting average is .367 with 16 home runs.
“These past four years have been amazing, playing for a great program. I grew so much as well, it has greatly contributed to my leadership, my passion for softball,” said Negron, admitting that she nearly gave up on the sport during her early years at the Edison campus. “Playing for Missy, playing for STA, really made me fall in love with it every single year and I want to play and I want to take this further than just high school.”
The catcher calls the pitches at STA, not the coach. This presents a rather unique scenario, since the Trojans’ catcher is Liz Negron’s twin sister, Gwen, who has been her catcher for virtually her entire career. While the two try to limit their softball conversations to the field rather than the dinner table, imagine the solace one finds when pitching to someone who shares your DNA.
“Having my sister catch for me is probably the biggest blessing of all time,” Negron said. “It’s great chemistry that we had because we could feed off what we were doing. Sometimes we come at each other, but it’s all love at the end of the day because we both have such high standards for each other.”
When they get to college, it will be the first time the Carteret natives won’t be playing together. In fact, they’ll be playing against one another in the Sun Conference in Florida as Liz is headed to Ave Maria University and Gwen is headed to St. Thomas University.
“Without her, it’s definitely going to be a bit different,” Liz Negron said. “Playing against her is definitely going to be fun to see that happen. At the end of the day, it’s all going to be love but now that we’re against each other it’s going to be a lot of competition.”
The St. Thomas Aquinas program will go on next year, but their ace will be sorely missed.
“She was the leader of the team, she was the one who set the example, she was the emotional leader, she put the team on her back when we needed her to at times. As she went, the team kind of went,” said Collazo, noting that Liz Negron was also the program’s Scholar/Athlete. “She dedicates her whole life to this sport. She loves it, she plays with a passion that’s unlike a lot of the players now.”
“I think softball is a game of chess, everyone has to do their part,” Negron said.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: HNT Player of the Year is St. Thomas Aquinas’ Liz Negron
Continue reading...
In an effort to get on the field by any means necessary, she began playing shortstop when the team needed one, doing so at an All-Area level, biding her time awaiting her turn in the circle.
With Wieczerzak’s graduation, Negron returned to pitching fulltime this season and led the Trojans to their sixth Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament title in seven years. For her dominance in the circle and at the plate, and her leadership on the field and off, Liz Negron is the Home News Tribune Softball Player of the Year.
“They were definitely big shoes to fill, Hayley was a great pitcher, so it was already set at a high bar,” said Negron, who began pitching at the age of 6. “At first, I was feeling the pressure going into it, but I knew that my team had my back and they would make me the player that I’m supposed to be. As time went on, I felt more comfortable and I felt that I really could take on that role and I think I did the best I could and I’m proud of what I did.”
“She did get a lot of experience last year so I felt that she was definitely ready and she built a lot of her confidence in herself,” St. Thomas coach Missy Collazo said. “I’m very happy with the way she pitched, she got us through a lot of tough games. And, offensively, she was amazing as well.”
ALL-AREA 2025: Links to the Courier News and Home News Tribune All-Area softball honors package
More: VOTE NOW! Who is your choice for Central Jersey Softball Player of the Year?
The senior right-hander did not see the circle as a freshman, before tossing 30 innings as a sophomore. She compiled a 1.75 ERA in 60 innings and an 8-2 record as a junior, capped by a two-hitter over Camden Catholic in the state tournament, in which she retired the first 16 batters.
As a senior, Negron went 18-4 with a 1.91 ERA, 187 strikeouts and 53 walks in 129 1/3 innings. She was just as fierce at the plate, batting .400 with 32 hits, 29 RBIs and five home runs. Her career ERA is 1.91 and her batting average is .367 with 16 home runs.
“These past four years have been amazing, playing for a great program. I grew so much as well, it has greatly contributed to my leadership, my passion for softball,” said Negron, admitting that she nearly gave up on the sport during her early years at the Edison campus. “Playing for Missy, playing for STA, really made me fall in love with it every single year and I want to play and I want to take this further than just high school.”
The catcher calls the pitches at STA, not the coach. This presents a rather unique scenario, since the Trojans’ catcher is Liz Negron’s twin sister, Gwen, who has been her catcher for virtually her entire career. While the two try to limit their softball conversations to the field rather than the dinner table, imagine the solace one finds when pitching to someone who shares your DNA.
“Having my sister catch for me is probably the biggest blessing of all time,” Negron said. “It’s great chemistry that we had because we could feed off what we were doing. Sometimes we come at each other, but it’s all love at the end of the day because we both have such high standards for each other.”
When they get to college, it will be the first time the Carteret natives won’t be playing together. In fact, they’ll be playing against one another in the Sun Conference in Florida as Liz is headed to Ave Maria University and Gwen is headed to St. Thomas University.
“Without her, it’s definitely going to be a bit different,” Liz Negron said. “Playing against her is definitely going to be fun to see that happen. At the end of the day, it’s all going to be love but now that we’re against each other it’s going to be a lot of competition.”
The St. Thomas Aquinas program will go on next year, but their ace will be sorely missed.
“She was the leader of the team, she was the one who set the example, she was the emotional leader, she put the team on her back when we needed her to at times. As she went, the team kind of went,” said Collazo, noting that Liz Negron was also the program’s Scholar/Athlete. “She dedicates her whole life to this sport. She loves it, she plays with a passion that’s unlike a lot of the players now.”
“I think softball is a game of chess, everyone has to do their part,” Negron said.
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: HNT Player of the Year is St. Thomas Aquinas’ Liz Negron
Continue reading...
