Murphy blanks Somerville in SCT semifinals

HHS softballers advance to finals again

By: Rudy Brandl
   
   BRIDGEWATER — Erin Murphy has been having one of those magical seasons for the Hillsborough High softball team. The senior right-hander is sporting a microscopic ERA, thanks in large part to two perfect games and two marathon extra-inning gems, but she made some of her biggest contributions during last week’s Somerset County Tournament championship run.
   Murphy (6-2) fired a two-hit shutout to lead the Raiders to a 6-0 victory over Somerville in the SCT semifinals. Three nights later, she blasted a game-winning RBI triple and pitched the final inning to notch the save in the team’s 3-0 championship victory over Watchung Hills.
   "People don’t give Murphy enough credit," HHS head coach Cheryl Iaione said after her team advanced to the county finals for the second straight year. "This kid has given up three runs the whole season. Her stats are phenomenal. She gets the job done and she had that fire in her eye tonight."
   Murphy allowed two singles and one walk while striking out six Somerville batters. She retired seven batters in a row at one point and ended the game by handling three consecutive grounders back to the circle.
   "My breaking pitches were working great," Murphy said. "He was a great umpire for me, calling a lot of low pitches for strikes. I was able to move it around and get them out."
   The HHS offense didn’t get in gear against Jen Magliaro (10-6) until the bottom of the third when the team produced four runs, which has been more than enough to ensure victory this season. Marissa Van Cleef ripped a sharp single to left and stole second. Jess Szymanski reached on a bunt single and stole her way into scoring position.
   Candy Palumbo reached on a fielder’s choice when Somerville third baseman Caitlin Comba threw wildly home trying to cut down Van Cleef. Szymanski also crossed the plate on the play and Palumbo trotted to second base. Chrissy Yard ripped an RBI single to center and took an extra base on the throw home. Lauren Scrocca made it 4-0 with a run-scoring base hit to right field.
   "We knew we could hit her," said Murphy, who was 2-for-3 to support her own cause. "It was just a matter of time before we got the runs."
   Hillsborough used more aggressive base running to tack on two more runs in the bottom of the fifth. Palumbo and Yard reached on errors and stole their way into scoring position. Scrocca and Murphy delivered RBI hits to increase the lead to 6-0.
   "I thought we could be aggressive and run on them," Iaione said. "We sent them early and we got something out of it. We need to be aggressive and scratch out runs."
   With the way her team pitches and plays defense, Iaione knew the Raiders would move on to the finals after the third inning.
   "When it was 4-0, we knew the game was over," she said. "We know we’re not going to give up four runs. We did what we had to do to win."