Teams must be .500 by Saturday to qualify
By Warren Rappleyea
Staff Writer
The Old Bridge High School softball team faces a daunting week as they look to qualify for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tourney.
The Lady Knights are 5-7-1 following a 2-0 loss to Edison Friday afternoon. Now Old Bridge needs to win three of its four games this week in order to have the necessary .500 or better record by the end of play May 10 to enter the tournament.
Complicating matters is the Lady Knights’ 0-0 tie with Colonia. The last two innings of that contest were played in a steady drizzle, and Old Bridge had runners on second and third with just one out in the bottom of the seventh inning when the game was halted.
As a result, the game reverted to the sixth inning, and while the score was unchanged, Amanda Meatto was perfect, retiring all 18 Colonia hitters she faced.
"That one really hurt us," Old Bridge coach Sue Klein said. "We needed that and it looked like we might be able to get a run to win it. Now, we just have to concentrate on this week’s games."
Old Bridge was slated to meet East Brunswick yesterday. The Lady Knights host Woodbridge this afternoon and travel to South Brunswick tomorrow.
"We need three wins," Klein said. "Hopefully, we’ll get on a roll this week — and keep going."
Generally Old Bridge has been able to hold their own in the field and Meatto has been solid on the mound, compiling a 1.54 ERA.
At the plate, however, the Lady Knights have struggled and were hitting just .203 as a team before the Edison game.
Sophomore Jaime Capra leads the team with a .317 average, to go with a homer, seven RBIs and nine runs.
Another sophomore, third baseman Lisa Petillo, is at an even .300 and leads Old Bridge with eight RBIs. Meatto, a .400 hitter last season, has also been swinging the bat better of late.
Klein noted that Cori Edley, a senior who began the season in center field, has done a superb job behind the plate filling in for the injured Brianne Regan.
Regan suffered a broken wrist on opening day and Edley volunteered to become the catcher.
In addition, freshmen Shannon Halstead and Ashley Kalbach have shown promise platooning in right field, and sophomore Dana Hadzmichalis has played well in center field since taking over for Edley.
Another local softball team on the bubble as Saturday’s deadline approaches is the South River squad. The Rams are at 7-6 and were scheduled to host Monroe Tuesday.
The Falcons (10-6 entering Tuesday’s game) are assured of a playoff berth, as are the East Brunswick Bears (14-2), and Spotswood Chargers (9-4). The Sayreville Bombers (3-10) will be on the outside looking in this postseason, but are showing signs of improvement as the season progresses.
On the baseball diamond, a pair of local teams needed wins this week to secure playoff spots.
The South River Rams were at 9-10-1 after Monday’s 14-4 loss to Carteret, and needed a win yesterday against Monroe to clinch a spot. However, the Falcons were also desperate for a win with an 8-8 record after Monday’s 18-8 win over Metuchen.
The only local team that assured itself of a spot in the postseason entering this week’s play was the Spotswood Chargers, who carried a 10-6 record into yesterday’s game with Carteret.
East Brunswick (6-11), Sayreville (3-9) and Old Bridge (5-11) will not earn state berths this year.