Millstone bids to stay alive in softball tourney action

Millstone bids to stay alive
in softball tourney action

MILLSTONE — The Millstone-Roos-evelt Little League 11- and 12-year-old girls all-star softball team is a couple of wins away from advancing to the District 12 championship game.

The nine-team tournament consists of Millstone, Allentown, Bordentown, Cranbury-Plainsboro, Lawrence, Cham-bersburg, East Windsor, West Windsor and New Egypt.

As of Tuesday, Millstone (3-1) had won three straight games in do-or-die situations to stay alive after losing its first game and dropping into the losers bracket of the double-elimination event.

Millstone was scheduled to face Allentown in another elimination game on July 12. If Millstone defeated Allentown, the team will play the loser of a game between Bordentown and New Egypt today in the District 12 semifinals.

A win in the semis would push Millstone into the championship round against the winner of the Bordentown-New Egypt clash. Millstone would have to win two straight games over either Bordentown or New Egypt to capture the District 12 title, Coach Jack Ballo said Tuesday.

Millstone’s only loss in the tournament has come at the hands of Bordentown, 12-0, on July 5. Since then Millstone defeated East Windsor, 15-3, and Lawrence, 23-13, and won a seven-inning contest over West Windsor, 11-8, on Monday.

With Millstone leading 8-7 going into the bottom of the sixth against West Windsor, the home team put together a rally which nearly ended Millstone’s season. After the first two batters walked, Ballo decided to make a pitching change, replacing his daughter, Amie, with Caitlin Ryan.

After a groundout scored the tying run for West Windsor, the winning run was on third base with one out.

"I decided to bring the infield and outfield in," Ballo said. "We knew that no matter what, we had to throw the ball home to stop the run from scoring. We had practiced this and the girls knew it was do or die for us with the season on the line."

The next West Windsor batter hit a grounder to the pitcher, where Ryan fielded it and threw home to Carly Machiz, who tagged out the runner trying to score.

Then, with two out, West Windsor once again had runners on first and third. Ryan threw a wild pitch, but Machiz was able to quickly retrieve the ball from the backstop and throw a strike to Ryan, who tagged the runner trying to score.

Millstone promptly scored three runs in the top of the seventh and reliever Jenna Schottlander pitched a scoreless seventh against the home squad, Ballo said.

"That was such an exciting win for us," the coach said. "Every one of the kids on this squad had something to do with this win, whether it was drawing a walk or stealing a base. It was a complete effort all the way."

In its three victories, Millstone has scored 49 runs.

"We are hitting the ball hard and far and running the bases extremely well," Ballo said. "If we can keep up this momentum, I think we can get to the championship game."

— Dan Miller