HHS softball back from break and back on top

Rams win two of three after layoff.

By: Neil Hay
   After taking the week off for spring break, Hightstown softball resumed play. The Rams won twice in three outings to improve to 3-5. But it was the one that got away that probably will stick in the minds of the Rams’ players and coaches for some time.
   It was your hit parade at Hightstown High School Monday when the Rams returned to action. The locals seemed not to miss a step offensively when they banged out 17 hits in a 15-5 victory over winless Lawrence. The Rams hit the ball with authority and put away the visitors with a nine-run fifth inning, and followed with two more in the sixth to call a halt with a mercy rule win.
   Brianne Teichmann did much of the heavy lifting when she socked a pair of home runs and delivered five runs batted in. Teichmann’s two-run shot in the third helped put the locals ahead 3-2, a lead that would last only until the Lawrence fifth when the Cardinals plated three runs for a 5-4 lead. That did not stand for long, however, as Teichmann and Company regained the lead with a nine-spot in the bottom half of the frame.
   Hightstown banged out five hits in the big inning, including Teichmann’s three-run home run. Two errors and three walks helped the Rams’ cause.
   Elyssa Swern collected three hits, Danielle Dolan finished the afternoon with two hits and three RBI, winning pitcher Erika Juricic had a double, and Rachel Orlen had two RBI.
   The offensive support was more than Juricic needed. Juricic tossed a two-hitter with three walks and six strikeouts. Hightstown committed four errors, leading to two unearned runs.
   On Saturday the host Rams defeated Holy Cross, 7-3, with Juricic yielding six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in going the distance. All the Holy Cross runs were earned as the Rams played errorless ball.
   This time the locals did not hit as well, settling for six hits. Still, that was enough to get the job done. Cara Montferrat’s three-run home run in the sixth inning gave the locals some breathing space.
   Down 3-1, Hightstown scored three times in the fourth to go ahead to stay. Three singles, a bases-loaded walk, and Montferrat’s run-scoring fielder’s choice, did the damage.
   "We made the most of our hits," said Coach Tim Kalick of the win over Holy Cross.
   Speaking after the win over Lawrence, Kalick used old truisms to comment on the current state of Hightstown softball.
   "We are feeling pretty good. Nothing dramatic. We are playing them one at a time, and staying within ourselves. We are trying to do the little things to get us by. We are getting key hits which are helping big time. Last year we did not get them."
   Hightstown again hit the ball with authority Tuesday, but a 13-4 advantage in hits did little to prevent a 4-3 loss at Burlington Township. Juricic deserved better but the Rams let one elude them that, by all accounts, should have gone into the Hightstown win column.
   "That’s a game we should have won, especially when (Burlington) is 0-7. That is a dagger in the heart. I’ll remember that loss, and the ones by 16-13 and 16-14." Particularly if Hightstown should fail to qualify for states by one game or so.
   Juricic allowed four hits with five walks and nine strikeouts. But two costly errors helped the home team to two unearned runs.
   Hightstown finished with 13 hits. Said Kalick, "We hit the ball. We just couldn’t get anyone across the plate. We couldn’t get a key hit."
   Dolan had a single and double, Amanda Huelbig netted three hits and a run batted in, Michele Jacobsen also had three hits, and Gabrielle Velazquez had two hits. But the Rams left "tons" of runners on the bases and had three others thrown out at the plate.
   "Maybe I got aggressive," recalled Kalick. It would take a nice play to cut down a runner at home and Burlington did it three times. But Kalick’s style is to encourage his team to be aggressive on the bases and that will not likely change.
   "Now you begin to check yourself. It is all hindsight. I got aggressive and they executed well. We should not have been in that situation with thirteen hits. Now we have an uphill battle and we’ll have to beat some of the better teams. We dug a little hole and have to play good softball now. We’ll continue to play that (aggressive) way. You live and learn."