Cougars fall to Carteret in CJ II semifinal
By: Justin Feil
A day after lightning and rain ended Montgomery High’s bid to advance in the Central Jersey Group II state tournament, Carteret made it official with a 6-1 win Thursday.
The Cougars were not their sharpest, at the plate or in the field, and it cost them against the defending sectional champion Ramblers.
"We made a little bit of everything," said MHS head coach Doug Ruhlman after his squad finished 14-7. "And we only had two hits, both by (Melissa) Calabro.
"Defensively, the two big things were we didn’t execute two big rundowns and that killed us. Those were outs and they turned into three runs. We didn’t throw to the right bases. All that is defense, but it’s moot if you don’t hit. It comes down to big plays and she kept us off stride all game."
MHS had more chances Wednesday when it had just one at bat, and had runners on second and third with one out but couldn’t get anyone home. The next inning, the umpires called the game with Carteret batting in the second. Thursday started out fine for Montgomery with Calabro getting a double and scoring on a two-base error, but it didn’t get much better.
"We came out well, and I thought we were playing well," Ruhlman said. "But we didn’t make much contact. You can’t just invent base runners."
It’s an experience that was frustrating for the Cougars, but it’s the sort of thing that could serve as motivation in a return trip to the sectional semifinals, even if that has to come in CJ III, as could happen as soon as next year.
"The year was a good year," Ruhlman said. "We didn’t win anything, but we presented ourselves well in the conference. Hopefully this is a taste for these girls who’ll be back."
The only two that are not expected to return are seniors Kristina Adams and Calabro.
"Melissa and Adams are both outstanding leaders," Ruhlman said. "I asked Kristina to move her position (to first base from outfield) and she did it well. Melissa has moved around the outfield, but stayed out there for us and she’s been steady for us. Those two did a great job this year. They deserve the accolades of the team."
Calabro started her senior season with a bang by going 3 for 4 and walking one other time against Hackettstown in an 11-0 MHS win. And she ended it with the only two hits of the game and the only run scored for the Cougars, but in what would turn out to be the Cougars’ season finale. It’s the type of production that Ruhlman can only hope to have next year.
"We have some nice players that Johnny (Rooney, the Montgomery Middle School coach) has been working with," he said. "They have to step up. It’s another level."
And that can take a while to understand. By the close of the season, MHS had a better understanding of how difficult a sectional championship is to win.
"I feel like it was a valuable learning lesson," Ruhlman said. "Some of them thought it might have happened a little easier, but they all worked hard. Going to Group III won’t help us."
What will help is that the Cougars will bring back an experienced squad, one that’s disappointed that it didn’t make it farther to get a shot at the No. 1 seeded CJ II squad, Freehold. But after it got to be 3-1 Thursday, the Cougars couldn’t find enough to rally.
"When they got their third run, I felt they were a little down," Ruhlman said of his team. "They were a little dejected after that. It was tough after that."

