By: Carolyn M. Hartko
The Monroe Township High School softball team got to "Super Saturday" of this year’s Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament before being bumped by third-seeded Edison 3-0 last Saturday.
The Lady Falcons, seeded 14th, advanced to the round of 16 by beating Cardinal McCarrick (19th) in the preliminaries.
That sets Monroe’s final record at 10-11. In spite of the loss, Falcon head coach Keith Hudak felt his squad got a good workout in this year’s tourney.
"It’s always a good experience, especially if you can win the first game, and then get up to South Plainfield for that Super Saturday," Hudak said. "It gives you a whole different venue to play in. There’s a lot of people, a lot of teams, a lot of hoop-la and everything. It’s a good experience for the girls."
Monroe’s big problem in Saturday’s game was Edison’s star pitcher Christina Hopkins. Hopkins pitched a one-hitter with eight strikeouts, and no free rides. Then she helped herself out on offense with a double, two singles, and two RBI.
"We just couldn’t hit her," Hudak said. "She was a little bit quicker that what we’ve seen all year, and she changed her speed up pretty nicely. She really kept us off balance, and we struggled against her."
Falcon pitcher Brittany Salvatore recorded the lone Monroe hit in the fourth inning. On the mound, Salvatore fanned four, allowed one walk, and scattered six hits.
"We did okay," Hudak said. "I think we were a little nervous at the beginning, and we gave them a run in the first inning. Then they picked up one in the third, and another in the fifth."
The first-round game was the opposite for Monroe. The Falcons had a total of 11 hits against Cardinal McCarrick. Junior Laura Gibbons, the team’s leadoff batter, sparked the offense with three hits (including a double), two RBI, and two runs scored. Sophomore Jillian Chen started off the bottom of the fourth inning with a triple out to the center field fence, and Kim Gobac went 2-for-3 with a two run double in the third. Senior Danielle Payne also contributed a double.
"McCarrick we played well against," Hudak said. "We hit the ball well, we played good defense. That was a good day for us. Brittany pitched well. She’s really come along with her walk ratio. From the beginning of the year, that was her biggest problem. Now she’s gotten more control. Over maybe the last 30-35 innings, she’s only walked one or two people. So, that’s really helped us too."
Now that 2003 is in the record book, the Falcons can take some time to evaluate their first year in the GMC’s White Division. Since they will only be losing two seniors to graduation, the returning players should form the type of team that can be a real contender in 2004.

