Softball team gets no-hit in sectional quarterfinals

Softball

By: Jim Green
   Lawrence High School softball coach Pete Cino could only watch as Hamilton ace Melissa Hodge mowed his team down for the second time this season.
   Hodge, who hurled a no-hitter in a regular-season meeting with the Cardinals on April 28, held Lawrence hitless again last Thursday. Only this time, the Cardinals were eliminated from the state tournament with a 2-0 loss at Hamilton in the Central Jersey Group III sectional quarterfinals.
   "It was a good game," Cino said. "We just couldn’t scratch out a hit."
   Hodge finished with 15 strikeouts and improved to 17-3 with the complete-game win. The Cardinals managed only two baserunners the entire game.
   "In the previous game (against Hamilton), I thought we had a chance," Cino said. "I never got the feeling we were going to hit her on Thursday."
   Junior right-hander Emily Panasowich fell to 3-4 on the season despite surrendering only two runs — both coming in the fourth inning — on five hits. The Cardinals (11-10-1) simply could not muster a threat against Hodge.
   Senior first baseman Tiffany Robert, who drew a second-inning walk but was stranded, was the only Cardinal to reach base in the first five innings.
   "Even though Hodge was a buzz saw, they (the Cardinals) stayed focused," Cino said. "They never lost focus on defense, and they kept the game close."
   The Cardinals’ last chance came in the top of the sixth inning, as junior second baseman Liz Casale reached on an error. But Lawrence again was unable to build a rally.
   "I was just hoping we could get a couple of bloops and scratch out three runs," Cino said. "It just wasn’t meant to be."
   Lawrence’s season may or may not have come to an end with the loss. If Notre Dame defeated Steinert on Wednesday, the Fighting Irish and the Spartans would be tied in the loss column for first place in the Colonial Valley Conference Colonial Division. In order to determine the division winner, Lawrence would be forced to make up a game against Notre Dame that was rained out earlier in the season.
   The Cardinals, whose scheduled season finale against Hunterdon Central was rained out Friday, held light practices early this week in case they would be forced to play Notre Dame. No date for the potential contest had been set as of Tuesday afternoon.
   "Everyone, as of Friday, mentally was done," Cino said. "We had to wake the team back up, essentially."
   If the Cardinals’ season is over, they can begin to look toward what should be a successful 2004 season. The bulk of Lawrence’s roster will be back, and Cino will have a full year as a varsity coach under his belt.
   "We’re definitely optimistic," Cino said. "The core of the team is back. We’re excited about next year."