Hopewell Valley softball
By: Jim Green
With their backs to the wall, the Hopewell Valley Central High School softball team got back to playing the way it did during its great start to the season.
Following a 4-0 loss to Ewing on May 9, the Lady Bulldogs stood at 9-9, needing to win two of three to qualify for the state tournament by last Friday’s deadline. All they did was go out and win three straight, including victories over Princeton in the Mercer County Tournament consolation bracket and Skyland Conference foe North Hunterdon to end the week. The streak gave the Lady Bulldogs a 12-9 record, easily qualifying for the Central Jersey Group III section of the state tournament. The seeds for the tournament are expected to be released today (Thursday).
"We’re anxious to find out who we’re playing," Hopewell senior Becca Rhebergen said. "Our bats our starting to heat up, and our defense is looking pretty sound lately."
On Friday against North Hunterdon, senior Lindsay Sorg was huge, smacking a double and a triple and knocking in two runs to lead the way to a 10-3 rout at CHS. Rhebergen had a double and two RBIs, and junior Elise Renoe, senior Allison Carrier and sophomores Gina Colati and Gina Pagano each had RBIs. Sophomore pitcher Courtney Sorg upped her mark to 12-9 with her third straight strong outing.
"Everything’s working for her, and she’s getting a lot of help from her defense," Rhebergen said.
The day before, Courtney Sorg held Princeton to one run on seven hits over seven innings and knocked in the winning run with a seventh-inning sacrifice fly, helping Hopewell past Princeton 2-1 at CHS. Lindsay Sorg knocked in the other run, and Pagano had a double.
The Lady Bulldogs managed to pull out the tournament-clinching win without Rhebergen, who missed the game due to illness.
"When I heard about the outcome, I was really relieved," she said. "We came back on Friday and beat North Hunterdon pretty well. I think our relief at getting into the states helped us."
The streak came to an end with a hard-fought 7-5 loss to a strong Lenape squad at CHS. Junior Ashley Wilson had three RBIs, and Lindsay Sorg and Rhebergen each had an RBI, but the Lady Bulldogs could not overcome an early 4-1 deficit.
Hopewell bounced back immediately on Monday, however, with a 5-0 road win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North. Courtney Sorg allowed just five hits on the way to her sixth shutout of the year, while Rhebergen smacked two doubles and drove in two runs. Lindsay Sorg had a triple and two RBIs, and Pagano knocked in a run. The Lady Bulldogs improved to 13-10 overall and 7-7 in the Colonial Valley Conference.
"Earlier, we had maybe one or two bats going at the same time," Rhebergen said. "Now we have everyone going."
Hopewell, which was scheduled to face Steinert on Wednesday, will finish the regular season with a road game against Lawrence at 3:45 p.m. today. Rhebergen and the other Hopewell seniors then will look to keep the postseason going as long as possible.
"I would like to go as far as I can," Rhebergen said. "I’ve had a great few years in the program."

