What’s in a name?
Plenty according to Aurora Central Catholic’s Corina Maratea. And the senior pitcher doesn’t need a Shakespearean scholar to explain it to her, either.
A 5-foot-4 but mighty right-handed pitcher, Maratea set the program’s single-season record for wins last season when she posted a 16-4 record with a 1.97 ERA. But her last name was Miller.
“It’s definitely Maratea now,” she said. “I’m really proud of it because it’s for my stepdad, Jesse Maratea. He’s my dad, I don’t refer to him as my stepdad. When I turned 18, I told him I wanted to change my last name. I’ve been thinking about it for a long time.
“He’s been in my life since I was 8, and I think I’m closest to him of everybody in this world. I was the only one in my house with the last name Miller. In January, I did all the paperwork, went and got it changed.”
For the 2026 season, Maratea has a new coach to go with her new name, too.
Paul Netzel, who spent the last three seasons at Oswego and co-coached the Panthers to the Class 4A state championship last spring with Annie Scaramuzzi, was hired in December.
“It was time for Annie to take over the program,” said Netzel, who applied for the ACC job after learning that coach Mark Pasqualini stepped down to take an assistant’s role at Benedictine.
Maratea, meanwhile, also had a change of heart about her future.
Last year, she had committed to NCAA Division III Illinois College. But she reopened her recruiting and has since committed to NCAA Division II Georgian Court in New Jersey.
Kiwi Moran, an assistant at Illinois College, was also Maratea’s assistant coach in travel with the Chicago Cheetahs. She then took an assistant’s job at Marian in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
“I was still happy with my decision, but when she left, it was kind of weird,” said Maratea, who received a call a week later from Jim Gleason, Georgian Court’s new coach.
He had seen her pitch with the Cheetahs in a summer tournament on the East Coast.
“I kinda thought I had been overlooked a little bit when it came to recruiting,” Maratea said. “I realized I should start looking. It kind of got thrown in my face.”
After she visited Georgian Court, which is midway between New York City and Philadelphia in Lakewood, New Jersey, Gleason made an offer and Maratea accepted.
“He had seen me pitch but it was months later, and when he originally called, he asked how tall I was because he had watched me from afar,” Maratea said. “When I told him, he didn’t care. He just likes the way I throw the ball and the fact that I’m not afraid to go inside to hitters. That’s one thing I really liked when I talked to him.
“It’s a better opportunity at a higher level.”
Maratea has put in plenty of work with private pitching coach Jill Waldron and physical training with Mark Nilles.
“They are essentially why I’m the player I am today,” Maratea said. “Bigger schools are looking for pitchers who are 6-foot. I wish I was 6-foot, but I’ve gotta work with what I’ve got.
“I’ve worked on improving my velocity and I’m in better shape.”
This spring, Maratea will also see more time in the lineup, whether she’s pitching or not.
“She’s a good hitter, said Netzel, who envisions her near the top of his batting order.
ACC has only 13 payers on the roster, but Netzel believes the Chargers can do well coming off a 23-win season.
“Especially with Corina pitching,” he said. “And if we can get the defense right, I think we can get to a sectional. We just have to have the ball bounce our way.”
