Sorg sparks victory over state champ

Hopewell Valley softball

By: Jim Green
   When a team has a stretch of games like the one the Hopewell Valley Central High School softball team had this week, it usually is thrilled to win two of three.
   The Lady Bulldogs sandwiched big wins over Montgomery and West Windsor-Plainsboro South around a loss to Hillsborough. But teams as strong as this Hopewell squad are never satisfied with a loss.
   "After beating Montgomery, we wanted to come out of the weekend winning both games," catcher Becca Rhebergen said. "We thought if we showed up for the Hillsborough game with the same intensity, we would be able to beat them."
   On Friday, the Lady Bulldogs had perhaps their biggest win in recent memory, coming from behind to defeat Group III state champion Montgomery 2-1 on the road behind a superb performance by sophomore pitcher Courtney Sorg.
   Sorg, who surrendered one run on three hits on the way to picking up her second win of the year, got that win by driving home the tying and go-ahead runs with a bases-loaded single in the top of the seventh inning. Sorg’s RBIs broke a 28-inning scoreless streak by Montgomery pitching to start the season.
   "We came back against the state champ," Rhebergen said. "It’s definitely one of the best wins we’ve had in a while.
   "We came out good defensively and got the bats going when we needed to late in the game."
   Rhebergen was not surprised by Sorg’s calm demeanor under pressure.
   "Courtney came up for us really big last season," Rhebergen said. "She went 3-1 after Steph Miller was injured. She knows how to keep her cool. Her hitting has improved so much. She’s really helping her own cause there."
   Perhaps suffering a letdown following the tremendous win, the Lady Bulldogs then dropped to 2-2 on the year Saturday with a 5-1 home loss to Hillsborough, another tough Skyland Conference squad that ranks among the best in the state. Sam Stout doubled, but the Hopewell offense as a whole managed just four hits against Hillsborough pitcher Chrissy Yard.
   "It would have been great if we won both," Rhebergen said. "We took what we needed to out of the loss and used it Monday and came back strong."
   The Lady Bulldogs responded Monday, beating West Windsor-Plainsboro South 2-1. Sorg once again came up big with a double at the plate and seven strikeouts in seven innings from the pitcher’s circle. Rhebergen had an RBI groundout to tie the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the first and doubled and scored the winning run on a groundout by Elise Renoe in the sixth inning, as Hopewell improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the Colonial Valley Conference.
   The Lady Bulldogs have a re-match with Patriot Division rival Allentown — which topped Hopewell 8-0 on April 4 — at 3:45 p.m. Friday at CHS. They then will be at Moorestown at 10 a.m. Saturday before playing host to Notre Dame on Monday.
   "I think Friday and yesterday (Monday against WW-P South) were the best games I’ve seen out of this group this year," Rhebergen said. "If that keeps up, I think we can give any team a run for its money."