Runs tough to come by for area softball teams

MHS advances in SCT action, Hun and WW-PS drop close games

By: Bob Nuse
   In tournament softball, runs are always tough to come by.
   Sometimes one run is enough to win. Other times, it might take two or three.
   On Saturday, Montgomery High was the only one of the three Packet-area softball teams playing a county tournament game that managed to score a run. And because of it, the Cougars were the only team to advance.
   Montgomery, which trailed 1-0 after four innings and was tied 1-1 after five innings, scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh on its way to a 6-1 win over Ridge in the opening round of the Somerset County Tournament. With the win, the sixth-seeded Cougars advanced to face third-seeded Immaculata Saturday in the SCT quarterfinals.
   In the Mercer County Tournament, both West Windsor-Plainsboro South and Hun were the victims of shutouts and were eliminated with losses. Hun dropped a 1-0 decision to Notre Dame on a run in the bottom of the ninth inning. WW-P South lost to Steinert, 2-0, despite allowing just three hits.
   Montgomery, which improved to 9-3 with its win over Ridge, broke open a tight game with its five-run sixth inning. The Cougars, who were aided by six Ridge errors, received seven-hit pitching from Amanda Heller. Kim Dougherty, Natalie Franzi and Joanne D’Ercole all drove in runs in the win.
   Hun had chances to score but couldn’t get a hit at the right time against Notre Dame’s Kristen Zabawa. Meanwhile, the Irish got the hit they needed to win in the bottom of the ninth.
   "We played a nice game," said Hun coach Kathy Quirk, whose team will open play in the state Prep A tournament today at 4 p.m. against St. Elizabeth. "They just got a break and got a hit at the right time. We left a girl stranded at third in the fourth inning. And in the eighth, Emily (Rosenthal) led off with a double and we left her stranded.
   "We had six hits, which is good. And she only struck out five. So we did hit the ball, but a lot of times right to them. Both teams had some phenomenal catches in the field. It was a great game and a shame one team had to lose."
   WW-P South was in a similar game with Steinert, which pushed across a pair of runs to snap the Pirates’ six-game winning streak.
   "It was a very good game," said South coach Dee Pasternak, whose team fell to 8-3 with the loss. "We’ve been playing well the last two or three weeks and we played well against Steinert. We’ve been on a nice roll since our Nottingham game."
   The Pirates had won six in a row, with the last three all coming via shutout. It’s been a combination of good pitching and solid defense for the Pirates.
   "Katy (Hubbard) is not an overwhelming pitcher, but she has a nice fastball and she puts it where she wants it," Pasternak said. "She can hit the corners and keep it away from the batter. And our defense has been doing a great job behind her.
   "The kids were down after the game, but I think they feel like they can beat Steinert. We’re looking forward to playing them again on Friday. We’ve played them twice now and they’ve both been good games. So we’d like another shot at them."
   Steinert had just three hits in Saturday’s MCT win, but that was one more than the Pirates were able to manage against the Spartans.
   "I thought both teams played well," Pasternak said. "They were just able to push across a couple runs and we weren’t."