Calhoun's Lindsay Roman all business in the circle

The Lindsay Roman on the softball field and Lindsay Roman off it may as well be different people.

On the bench, the Calhoun junior is cracking jokes, keeping the tension low and having fun with her teammates. But once she is in the pitching circle, focused on the girl in the batter’s box, the humor stops.

“She just completely transforms,” Calhoun coach Veronica Widmaier said. “In practice, in school, she’s fun, she’s silly, but when she comes on the field, she transforms to this different player. She knows what she has to do to get it done and nothing is going to stop her from doing that.”

Roman is 4-2 with a 1.00 ERA, allowing only 23 hits and five walks with 59 strikeouts in 42 innings. She threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts and no walks in a 2-0 victory over Mepham April 2, followed by an eight-strikeout shutout in a 1-0 win over Seaford two days later.

“I like having fun while I’m playing the sport because that’s why I play it,” Roman said. “If you’re not having fun, then it’s not enjoyable. I know during practice we all have fun and goof around but then we all know when it’s time to play our hardest.”

And there was an additional level of excitement for the matchup against Mepham, as the two schools are a part of the Bellmore-Merrick school district and opposing players know each other well.

"There was a lot of adrenaline,” Roman said. “I knew we all wanted to win and everyone was hyped and we were all ready to win.”

It also helps the Colts knowing they have a standout in the circle. Roman, who went 9-4 with a 1.29 ERA and 130 strikeouts and hit .329 with two home runs and 20 RBIs, helped lead Calhoun to the Nassau AA championship game last year. After making the move to Nassau A  because of enrollment changes, Calhoun is off to a 5-2 start.

“I think it puts the team at ease and it allows them to play with a little more fluidity,” Widmaier said of Roman. There’s not as much pressure on them or stress on them and it almost just makes playing softball a little easier for everyone.”

And Roman, along with a talented team including Hannah Aievoli, Taylor Baumann, Heather Berberich and Meghan Vecchione, is looking for another deep postseason run this year, with the goal a chance to  play for a Long Island and  Class A state championship.

“Since we went so far last year, I kind of have a high expectation of this year because I know when we are put together as team, we can be very dangerous," Roman said. "And I think that we’re going to go far this year, too.”