Softball
By: John E. Powers
The season didn’t end the way the Hopewell Valley Central High School softball team expected.
The Lady Bulldogs were supposed to end the season at home last Thursday against West Windsor-Plainsboro North, but North didn’t show up. Thus, the Lady Bulldogs finished the season with a 12-10-1 record.
On Wednesday, the Lady Bulldogs were tied by Central Jersey Group III champion Hamilton 5-5. Lindsay Sorg, the sophomore shortstop, went 2-for-2 with three runs scored. She also slammed a triple. Senior right fielder Heide Rarich went 2-for-2 with an RBI and run scored. Becca Rhebergen had a triple and an RBI, while Jill Castiglione knocked in a run.
The Lady Bulldogs held a 5-1 lead at one point, but were tied in the bottom of the sixth. The game was called because of rain.
"That’s how our season ended," Hopewell Valley coach Tony Mormile said. "A bizarre season with the rain and everything else."
Mormile said he was very impressed by his team’s resilience after it was beaten by Montgomery in the Central Jersey Group II tournament. The Lady Bulldogs had to wait a week to play their game with divisional champion Hamilton.
"It (the game against Hamilton) says a lot about our team," he said. "We were eliminated from the states, and we basically were playing a game with no meaning. We started strong, but we were disappointed the way it ended. It says a lot about the way the kids compete and played so hard against such a good team."
The Lady Bulldogs lost to Hamilton 5-4 in the first meeting of the season on May 14, scoring four runs against sophomore right-hander Melissa Hodge, who equaled a state record by striking out 30 in the sectional final against North Hunterdon, a game Hamilton won 1-0 in 13 innings.
In that game, Rhebergen had a triple and two RBIs, Kim Hart had a double and Jill Castiglione knocked in a run. The confidence the Lady Bulldogs gained from that loss helped them go 3-1-1 over their last five games to finish on a positive note.
"In a lot of ways we would have loved to have won, just to say we beat the sectional champions," Mormile said. "But now we can say we tied them whatever that’s worth."