Set to face Montgomery on Saturday
By:Rudy Brandl
BERNARDS — Heather Hinton picked the perfect time to emerge from her hitting slump and Erin Murphy pitched another superb game to lift the Hillsborough High softball team to a 2-0 victory over Bernards in Saturday’s Somerset County Tournament first round.
The victory snapped a two-game skid and sends the 11th-seeded Raiders to No. 3 Montgomery for a rematch of last year’s quarterfinal thriller. Hillsborough defeated Montgomery ace Katie Brennan last May and will try to it again this Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m.
Hinton, a senior center fielder, entered the game with a .167 batting average. After hitting the ball hard on a ground out in the second inning, Hinton smashed a line drive down the right field line in the top of the fourth. Right fielder Libbie Fritz tried to stop the ball on a short hop but it eluded her and rolled into open space, allowing the speedy Hinton to touch all the bases en route to her first home run of the season.
“I was watching coach (Cheryl Iaione) the whole time,” Hinton said. “I saw her waving her arms so I just kept going.”
Hinton was mobbed by her teammates after crossing home plate. The home run provided a 1-0 lead but also ended an 18-inning scoreless drought for the Raiders, who were blanked at Hunterdon Central and Warren Hills earlier in the week.
“I knew she was due to break out,” Iaione said. “That gave us a big lift.”
Hinton knew it was a matter of time before she’d get a big hit. She had plenty of key hits last spring but hasn’t found that consistent stroke this year. Hinton has spent extra time after practice with volunteer assistant Jack Van Cleef, who made a few suggestions.
“I’ve been struggling all season with my batting,” she said. “ “He noticed that I was pulling away from the plate and he told me to keep my head in and not drop the bat. I worked on it yesterday and it worked today. I know I have the power. I just have to get up there and hit.”
Murphy (5-2) wasn’t overpowering but proved tough under pressure. Bernards applied some heat by getting the leadoff batter on base in each of the first three innings. The Mountaineers even put two runners on with no outs in the third, but Murphy buckled down and retired the next three hitters.
“Murph bends but she doesn’t break,” Iaione said. “We’ve given up 12 runs in the last seven games. Our pitchers are doing a great job and our defense is playing great.”
“I just have to bear down and not let them score,” Murphy added.
The HHS freshman struck out three and walked four, including two with two outs in the fifth. She escaped that jam by retiring Darcey Brooten on a ground ball to second base, where senior Trish Ryan successfully fielded one of her six chances in the game.
“I was off a little bit, but I just calmed down and stopped walking people,” Murphy said. “My curveball was working well for strikes and the defense was awesome. Trish had a lot of good plays and Heather made an awesome catch.”
Hinton snatched a line drive off the bat of Amy Johnson with one out in the seventh inning. Johnson’s rip was the hardest hit ball of the day against Murphy and nearly sailed over Hinton’s head, but the Raider center fielder reached up and made a great catch for the second out.
Murphy finished her second one-hitter of the season in style, striking out Jen Zahos looking at a fastball. She notched two of her three strikeouts in the final inning, when she felt more relaxed and confident with a two-run lead.
The Raiders added that key insurance run in the sixth inning. Barrie Quick started the rally with a single to left field and Alex Rock executed one of her two sacrifice bunts in the game to move the runner. Pinch hitter Ashley Turek came up with a huge RBI single to left field for a 2-0 edge.
“We’re still not hitting the way we need to be, but we came through with some clutch hits today,” said Iaione, whose club had seven hits but left 10 runners on base. “That’s something we haven’t been doing in close ball games. Today was the day to come through in the clutch.”
Courtney Van Cleef had another multi-hit game, her fourth of the week, to lift her batting average to .514. Hinton and Turek provided the big RBI hits, while Lauren Wang, Jaime Borsuk and Lisa Bruno all had singles.
Bernards had seven base runners but didn’t score against Murphy, whose ERA dropped below one run per game. The Raiders will need a similar effort against third-ranked Montgomery and hard-throwing lefty Brennan in the quarterfinals.
“It’s going to be the same type of game,” Iaione said. “It’s going to be a war. Whoever executes better will win. I like our chances.”
Saturday’s victory also moved the Raiders closer to a possible state playoff berth, which would be a special milestone to seniors Hinton, Van Cleef, Bruno and Ryan. For now, the upperclassmen are thinking about winning the county tournament.
“This is my last time playing softball and I want to go out with a big bang,” said Hinton, who will concentrate on soccer full-time at Seton Hall University next year. “I’d like to go as far as possible and win it this time. I think we can take our bracket and move on to the finals.”