Red Raiders win fourth straight Prep B title

Softball

By: Mike Molaro
   For the second year in a row, The Pennington School’s softball squad spotted Rutgers Prep a five-run lead before rallying to win the Prep B state championship.
   Last year, the Red Raiders rallied for five runs in the bottom of the seventh and scored the winning run in the eighth for their fourth straight Prep B crown.
   On May 15, top-seeded Pennington (14-4) trailed 5-0 after three innings before whittling away at the lead and pushing the winning run across in the bottom of the seventh to defeat second-seeded Rutgers Prep 6-5. The Red Raiders captured their fifth consecutive state title at Newark Academy in Livingston.
   It was the fourth time in a row the Red Raiders and Argonauts met in the Prep B final.
   "The girls didn’t panic," Pennington coach Dean Waters said. "They knew they could come back. You have to give Rutgers Prep credit for scoring three runs in the top of the first. We gave them two more runs in the third on a couple of errors. We weren’t playing badly. We were hitting balls right at people."
   After those rough first three innings, the Red Raiders settled down and continued to narrow the deficit.
   "We played really nice ball after that," added Waters. "We chipped away little by little. (Senior right-hander) Lisa (Pachence) doesn’t get down on herself. She wasn’t happy about giving up those runs early, but she knew there was a lot of softball left. She had confidence in her teammates."
   Pachence, who scattered seven hits, also helped herself at the plate with a double, a triple and two RBIs, while seniors Catrina "Wojo" Wojciehowski and Robyn Jones and junior Jackie Strober also drove in runs. Sophomore Kristin Reiter belted a triple.
   Pennington scored once in the fourth, three times in the fifth, and once in the sixth. Jones scored the winning run on an overthrow in the bottom of the seventh, as Pachence earned the victory. Pachence is 3-0 with a save in four career title games.
   When junior righty Stephanie Schroeder pulled a shoulder muscle with two weeks remaining in the season, the Red Raiders knew they would have to ride the arm of Pachence to another championship.
   "This is definitely a blue collar type team," Waters said. "The girls had a tremendous work ethic and refused to be denied. They had their eyes on the state title from the first day of practice, and to a player they used that as their motivation."
   The Red Raiders, who defeated Ranney 10-1 and Lacourdaire Academy 9-1 en route to the match-up with Rutgers Prep in final, needed some time to get everything clicking on all cylinders this season.
   "Every time we started to get going, something happened to stop us," added Waters. "If it wasn’t the weather, then it was holidays or school breaks. I’m not using this as an excuse, because other teams faced the same situations. After two weeks into the season, we only played one game. It was difficult for the girls to get their timing down. Practicing in the gym isn’t the same as facing live action. The pitching was fine, and the defense was fine. The hitting wasn’t there early on.
   "It was a loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro South where the hitting came around. I told the girls after that game that was a good sign. We were 6-3 after that loss. We started to hit in that game. That was the key to our season. We took off after that. It was a great ride."
   With six games cancelled and not made up, Pennington had to overcome a slight loss of confidence, as the victories that came so easy a year ago were battles in the first half of the season.
   "There was a part early this season that the girls doubted themselves a little bit," Waters said. "Things didn’t go as well as they were used to. The balls that last year were going six inches past an infielder’s glove were going right at people this year.
   "The girls were used to having things go their way. I told the girls that teams aren’t going to roll over for us just because we show up. We have to go out there and play better than them."
   In the bottom of the seventh of this year’s state title game against Rutgers Prep, the Red Raiders remembered what their coach said to them a year ago when they trailed 5-0 in the seventh.
   "Last year I told the girls that Yogi Berra always said that there is no time limit in baseball," added Waters. "This year the girls said, ‘OK, coach, what did Yogi Berra say about baseball?’ It was like they knew they were going to win."
   Like every successful program, the Red Raiders had a solid supporting cast this season in assistant coach Jeff Hall and parents like Jules Nemeth and Jim Schroeder.
   "Jeff is my co-coach," Waters said. "I couldn’t do this or have this type of success without him. He is phenomenal, and the girls love him. He’s the good cop, and I’m the bad cop. We complement each other well.
   "Jules and Jim really helped out this year. Whether it was warming up pitchers before the game or working with the girls, they were always there."
   With five state titles to his credit, Waters feels most of the credit belongs to the players.
   "Jeff and I are very lucky to have girls who are extremely talented," he added. "It’s up to us to put them in the right place. Talent wins games. In softball, coaching is about 10 percent of winning. The rest is determined by the talent. We are very fortunate at Pennington."
   The Red Raiders are losing, according to Waters, "three great seniors" in Jones, Pachence and Wojciehowski.
   "Robyn (Jones) in an outstanding athlete and a great hitter," Waters said. "She is a great first baseman. She has been a starter since her freshman year and has never lost a state title game.
   "Lisa (Pachence) has a great mental outlook. She always gets better as the game goes along. I’ve never seen a pitcher get so many batters to hit right back to her. She’s also a great third baseman. She also has never lost in state title game.
   "Cat (Wojciehowski) was a transfer from Princeton Day School as a junior. She came to us when we needed a shortstop. She runs like a deer and has a lot of power. She never had an ego and blended right in with the girls. She also is a great athlete.
   "These girls were our captains. We had a very lively junior group, and Robyn, Lisa and Cat kept everyone focused and together. They are leaders by example."
   Not only have they found success on the soccer and softball fields, but Jones, Pachence and Wojciehowski are outstanding students in the classroom. Jones and Pachence will play soccer this fall at Rutgers University and Bucknell University, respectively, while Wojciehowski will concentrate on softball at Stetson College in Florida.
   The Red Raiders can look back at another Prep B title and a fifth consecutive state championship. They started slowly but kicked it into high gear at the right time. They were led by a trio of seniors who wouldn’t let them settle for anything less than the ultimate goal.
   It was, as Waters said, a great ride.