BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer
HILLSBOROUGH — The Edison High School girls softball team looked to break a four-game losing streak in Saturday’s matchup with the unbeaten Hillsborough Raiders.
Unfortunately, the Eagles were on the short end of a 10-inning, 1-0 decision, and fell to 2-5 on the season. Despite the tough week in which the Eagles dropped all three games, junior pitcher Carrie Mokar earned a spot in the Edison pitching rotation with a dazzling performance.
Mokar pitched all 10 innings in the loss to Hillsborough, but allowed just six hits in her first career start. She fanned six Hillsborough batters and issued zero walks. In what became a classic pitching dual, Hillsborough’s Marissa Van Cleef also went the distance allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out 13.
"I am just beaming with pride thinking about Carrie’s performance," Edison head coach Kim Schoemer said. "I can’t say enough about what she did on the mound today. It was a tough one to lose, but Hillsborough’s pitcher was awesome as well."
Edison had its best opportunity to put a run on the scoreboard in the top half of the eighth with a two-out single, but Van Cleef shut the door and her pitches remained unhittable for the duration of the contest. In what would prove to be Edison’s last chance at the plate in the 10th, Van Cleef struck out the side.
"We’ve now lost four games by one run," Schoemer said. "All of the losses have been against quality pitching, but that’s not a good excuse. We still need to be able to get some hits and have some people on base."
Hillsborough’s rally got under way with a leadoff single in the 10th by Yard. Yard moved to third on an infield single, and Jessica Szymanksi bunted home the game-winning run.
Earlier in the week, the Eagles fell to Greater Middlesex Conference rival Old Bridge by the same 1-0 score. In four out of the team’s five losses, Schoemer’s Eagles were held scoreless. In Friday’s defeat to East Brunswick, the Eagles struck early with two runs in the first inning, but the bats went cold and Edison fell 7-2.
"I was happy to see us put some runs on the board in the East Brunswick game," Schoemer said. "After the quick two, we didn’t get anything else, and that was frustrating."
The Eagles will look to rebound when Mokar gets the nod this week, when the team faces Woodbridge and J.P. Stevens.
"I am really happy with our pitching and defense," Schoemer said. "The tough competition and the close games should make us better for the postseason. I’m getting solid efforts from all of the girls, and we will see if we can get something going this week."