Red Raiders run comes to an end

Pennington softball

By: Mike Molaro
   Deep down, the Pennington School softball squad knew its string of six consecutive Prep B state championships had to end sometime.
   Unfortunately for the second-seeded Red Raiders (8-9), top-seeded Rutgers Prep made sure that streak concluded this season.
   The Argonauts made the most of their three hits and took advantage of six Pennington errors to win the Prep B title with a 6-1 victory on May 12.
   Senior Kristin Reiter drove in the lone Red Raider run, as Rutgers Prep took the rubber match between these two evenly matched teams. Sophomore Maureen Wells pitched well in defeat.
   "We had people on base — we just didn’t get the hits with men on base," Pennington coach Dean Waters said. "We had a chance to win the game. Rutgers Prep got the hits when they needed them, and we didn’t. We also hurt ourselves defensively."
   Unlike most local high schools, the Argonauts’ softball field does not have fences. That detail came into play and hurt Pennington’s chances to get some runs across.
   "We had a couple of 220-foot outs," Waters said. "That hurts when the girls the ball that far and have it caught for an out. Those shots would’ve been home runs at our field."
   The Red Raiders, who started the year at 1-7, never hit the panic button and kept plugging in a season that culminated with their seventh straight appearance in the Prep B title game.
   "We never gave up," Waters said. "We kept battling. The girls kept coming to practice wanting to learn and improve.
   "We had a rough schedule at the beginning with Peddie, Hun, Lawrenceville, McCorristin and Hopewell Valley. The girls hung together and got better. We (Waters and assistant coach Jeff Hall) are very proud of this team."
   The two seniors on the roster — Reiter and Nicole Henderson — played key roles on the field and in the locker room.
   "We really started to click when we moved Kristin from the outfield to catcher and Nicole from the infield to the outfield," Waters said. "These girls finished the season playing out of position, but they did it for the good of the team.
   "That’s the type of players they are."
   With Reiter behind the plate, opposing teams didn’t run as much, and those that attempted quickly learned not to do it again. Henderson replaced Reiter in the outfield and established herself as one of the area’s better defensive players.
   "We will miss them both a lot next year," Waters said.