Nicolosi enters game in time to be hero
By: Justin Feil
West Windsor-Plainsboro High North’s Samantha Nicolosi was paying attention to the varsity softball game against Princeton High even as she pitched in the junior varsity game Wednesday.
She saw Princeton’s Eliza Stasi increase the Little Tiger lead to 3-0 with a triple in the top of the sixth. But Nicolosi was on the field to help rally the varsity soon afterward.
Nicolosi, who normally starts at first base for the Knights varsity, was summoned to the varsity field in the bottom of the sixth inning, just in time to be a hero.
"I had missed the days preceding the game due to college visits so I was pitching for the JV," said Nicolosi, a junior in her third season of varsity at WW-PN. "We started to rally and all of a sudden, I heard, ‘Nicolosi, get up to bat.’"
As quickly as she could get herself together, Nicolosi was delivering a two-out, two-run single to win it, 4-3, and keep the Knights perfect this year.
It was the second time this year that the Knights have rallied late to win a game. They also came back to defeat Ewing, 3-2. At 3-0 overall going into Thursday’s scheduled game against Lawrence, WW-PN was just one win shy of last season’s total.
"We’re hoping to reach that," Nicolosi said, "and go further this year. We’re a lot younger this year. We’ve got some great young girls who came up, like our two freshmen. We really have come together this year. It’s a great start."
For the Little Tigers, who slipped to 1-6 going into Tuesday’s game against Hamilton, it was an especially bitter ending.
"I think (Wednesday) hurt everyone a little bit," said PHS head coach Steve Eisenstein. "It was probably disappointing to the entire team. It was probably the toughest way to lose a game, blowing a lead late in the game like that. The entire team looked good all the way around, and we got a little nervous when a little excitement started to happen."
For North, it was just the momentum it needed to ride to the rally. They’ve been in PHS’ position before. The last two seasons, they’ve had more losses than wins.
"Since freshman year, we’ve always had great juniors and seniors," Nicolosi said. "And they made it fun. But we’ll admit that it was not that great a feeling to not win any of your games. It’s the same now with having fun, but it’s even better that we’re winning together and can celebrate."
It looked for more than half the game that it would be the Little Tigers who were celebrating before a sharp transformation in the sixth inning.
"This is one I felt we should have been able to win," Eisenstein said. "We had the opportunity and we let it slip away."
It’s another learning experience for the Little Tigers, who have just one senior on their squad. Unfortunately she was missing Wednesday.
"I still think from the first day to today, there’s so much improvement that’s been made all around," Eisenstein said. "We’re still a young team. We still have a lot of inexperience playing varsity ball. Inexperience is the key that’s making us struggle a little bit."
Princeton scored once in the first inning and padded their lead to 3-0 with two more runs in the top of the sixth inning. Stasi led the Little Tiger offense with a triple and RBI.
"I think there were certainly a lot of positives (Wednesday)," Eisenstein noted. "It’s just unfortunate the way the game unfolded that some of them were overlooked.
"It’s going to get tough," he added. "Next week, we play four consecutive games. We start off with Hamilton. It’s going to be a rough week from the start. They played fairly solidly (Wednesday). They just need to go the distance and keep their heads and make sure they’re in the game for a full seven innings."
It’s a lesson that a young WW-P North team has picked up quickly in rallying for its second out of three straight wins to start the season.

