Freshman helps softball team to MAPL championship
By: Justin Feil
Emily Rosenthal came to The Hun School thinking she’d be the softball team’s pitcher. Instead, the freshman has found a home at catcher as senior Christine Czarnecki has remained the Raiders’ main hurler.
But Rosenthal is well on her way to following in Czarnecki’s footsteps, at least as a big-game performer. She’s already got the part down about taking it to Lawrenceville.
Czarnecki extended her remarkable scoreless streak to 31 innings against the Big Red as Hun claimed the Mid-Atlantic Prep League championship on Sunday with a 3-0 win.
"The key for us is just playing Lawrenceville," said Hun head coach Kathy Quirk, whose team is 13-2. "We rise to the occasion. We know what we have to do against them. Czar comes in and does it and we played well."
The victory was its second of the season against Lawrenceville, and Rosenthal went 2-for-3 for the second time this season against Lawrenceville while playing a flawless backstop for the Raiders.
"It’s actually a lot of help," Rosenthal said of catching Czarnecki, who pitched her third consecutive perfect game against Hill in the MAPL semifinal Sunday morning. "If you’ve pitched, you know what you’re doing. You’re behind the plate and you can see how everything works if you know what you’re doing."
No matter what Rosenthal called, it worked on Sunday as Hun wrapped up the MAPL championship that had eluded it last season. For the Raiders, who also lost in the Mercer County Tournament final and the Prep A final last season, it was a first step to the start of the second season.
Hun topped Hopewell Valley, 2-1, in the MCT quarterfinals on Saturday and faces Steinert, the team that beat them in last season’s MCT final, 8 p.m. Thursday at Armstrong Park in Ewing.
"It’s the most exciting time of the year," Rosenthal said. "We’re against real competition. It seems like our team does well under pressure. It seems like a lot of girls like to be under pressure. They like the games that mean more."
Rosenthal is new to Hun, but she’s fit perfectly into that mold. She was particularly looking forward to Sunday’s final with Lawrenceville, the first chance at a meaningful tournament title this season.
"I’ve heard all about last year," said Rosenthal, a Far Hills resident. "I know the pitcher and catcher from Lawrenceville and I know they’re a good battery. They’ve been strong together. Czar and I had to find a way to overpower them.
"Czar pitched great. She was on (Sunday). Her in-curve and out-curve were working great."
Rosenthal, who also played tennis for Hun in the fall, got an early start in softball, and it’s the one sport into which she has continued to pour her time and energy. She did the same when she realized her pitching would have to wait a season.
"I realized that Czar was going to have her spot and I wanted to do what I could to help the team," Rosenthal said. "I told them I could also catch. If you can hit, they have to put you in the lineup. I work on my hitting a lot.
"I caught a couple times in the summer," she added. "I adjusted pretty well though. I like it. You’re in the game a lot."
Sunday, it was a good thing that Rosenthal was in the lineup, particularly in Hun’s one big inning, the fourth. After Lindsay Pardun drew a walk, Rosenthal singled for her second hit of the game and fellow freshman Kaitlin Kirby also singled to load the bases before Rachel Weinstein walked to give Czarnecki all the run support she would need. An error allowed in the second run and Natalie Grossman’s bases-loaded walk gave the Raiders a second insurance run.
Quirk wasn’t surprised at all that Rosenthal came up with another multi-hit performance against the Big Red.
"She’s been very consistent," the Raider coach said. "I know she likes to pitch, but she’s done a phenomenal job behind the plate. The past two weeks, we moved her up to No. 3. I moved her back down (Sunday) because she seems to hit better from there and she hit again.
"She just really wants to play. She’s a real positive kid and it really helps that she’s so enthusiastic back there."
Hun, which was scheduled to face Montgomery High on Monday, had won four straight games since dropping back-to-back games to Hightstown and to Blair.
"Losing those two games helped us," Quirk said. "They realized they can’t ease up. They’re looking forward to playing Steinert again. The key is going to be our solid defense with a little poke here or there. It’s nice to get one (championship). It’s one of our unfinished business details."
The MCT and prep states are just ahead. All it took for the first title was a rival, a hot pitcher and some clutch at bats. Rosenthal was happy to do her part, and even happier just to be a part of the win.
"Everybody wanted Lawrenceville," she said. "We knew Lawrenceville really wanted us. We went in with a lot of confidence."
And followed through with the first of what Hun hopes will be many titles with Emily Rosenthal in the lineup. Wherever she happens to be playing.