By: Sean Moylan
Melissa Mehrer doesn’t like to lose. Fortunately, the Florence High School softball team’s junior hurler has done very little losing since her distinguished career began nearly a decade ago in Little League. So when she suffered her first loss of the season versus New Egypt a couple of weeks ago, one knew that some team was going to have to pay for it.
That team turned out to be Palmyra. Mehrer stunned the Panthers with a 17-strikeout, two-hit 12-0 shutout last Friday at Palmyra. Mehrer also smashed a mammoth homer leading off the second inning, which seemed to have deflated any hopes the Panthers had for a comeback.
"That homer kind of got us started (on the road to victory)," said Florence Coach George Chwastyk. "She (Mehrer) hit it over the center field fence and it kept on going. Her shot had to be a good 240 feet."
Kristin Garganio was 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. Stefanie Bulleck banged out three hits and drove in a run while Erin Sweeney and Nuran Onal each picked up a RBI for Florence. Jackie Miller also had a double.
Mehrer continued her dominance with a 10-0, five-inning, home win over Westampton Tech on Tuesday. She whiffed a dozen batters while tossing a one-hitter. She also doubled twice.
Kristin Garganio remained hot with a 3-for-3, three RBI day at the dish and Stephanie Wallace knocked in three runs. Florence freshmen Carlie Maple and Kelly Garganio also stung the ball in the game.
"Our freshmen group of Carlie Maple, Erin Sweeney and Kelly Garganio is doing very well," said Chwastyk.
Monday’s scheduled night game versus Northern Burlington was postponed until tomorrow (Friday). Florence (6-1) is scheduled to host Trenton Catholic Academy today (Thursday). It will play in the Hammonton tourney on Saturday.
NBC
Two weeks before the season was even due to start, Brian Wolverton pointed to last week’s Florida trip as to when he hoped his Northern Burlington County Regional High School softball squad would jell as a team. Well once again the combination of "sun, work and fun" has worked wonders for the Greyhounds, who seem to be enjoying each moment of each game.
Although NBC had a 4-1 record in Florida, it was midway through 8-2 to Notre Dame last Wednesday that Northern Burlington discovered its team identity.
"There was constant chatter on the bench. But they weren’t singing songs or doing chants like some of my other teams used to do. They were into the game," said Wolverton.
In the late game last Wednesday, NBC used "little ball" to beat Aquinas Institute of Rochester, New York 2-1. Lyndsey Rohn pushed home Heather Danley from third base with a perfect squeeze to plate the game-winning run in the top of the seventh. Earlier, J. Walton had tied the game at 1-1 with a triple in the third, which chased Nicole Conger across the plate. Danley, who is now back to one-hundred percent healthy, pitched brilliantly to earn the win.
"They (Aquinas) were like mirror images of us," said Wolverton, whose club played a team which also manufactured most of its runs with bunts and good base-running.
Last Thursday NBC swept a doubleheader from Presque Isle of Maine. Northern won the opener 12-4 behind a solid, five-inning pitching performance by Mary Dwyer.
In the second game versus Presque Isle, Danley pitched NBC to an 8-1 win as Dana Mattson powered the Greyhounds offensive attack with a triple.
Danley was also strong in NBC’s 8-3 closing win over West Geauga of Ohio on Friday. She now has a 6-1 record.
NBC (10-3) will play an early game at Burlington Township on Friday and then face Florence. NBC is scheduled at Moorestown today (Thursday).
LCA
Ever since she was a freshman, Life Center’s Stephanie Reitzel has clearly been the most dominating pitcher in the Penn-Jersey League.
This year Reitzel has been more dazzling and more unhittable than ever before and this past Tuesday she pitched her fourth no-hitter of the season in LCA’s 11-1 home win over Akiba Hebrew School. She had 14 strikeouts.
"Nobody hits Steph so you don’t have to do much in the field," LCA Coach Billy Rhoades said. "She has struck out all but about seven or eight batters the ntire season."
Sam Weer, who is having a tremendous season behind the plate catching Reitzel, collected three base hits in the contest while Katie Steffen had a pair of hits and Brittany Reiner smacked a double. Reitzel and Steffen were also the heroes in LCA’s 4-3 home win over Morrisville last Friday. Although Reitzel (a triple and double at the plate) surrendered a pair of hits to break up her string of three no-hitters in a row, she did fan 19 batters in the contest. But it was Steffen, who has 10 hits in LCA’s last four games, who delivered the game-winning knock.
"Katie Steffen got a base hit to bring in Ashley Nyul with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning," noted Rhoades.
Last Thursday, Reitzel tossed a three-inning (15-run rule) no-hitter in the Warriors’ 17-0 win at Solebury. She struck out eight batters and was aided by Steffen’s 4-for-4 day. LCA is 5-1 and 4-0 in the league.

