Team defeats Montgomery in battle of county powers
By: Rudy Brandl
MONTGOMERY Round 1 goes to the Hillsborough High softball team.
Less than 24 hours after being ranked second behind No. 1 Montgomery at the Somerset County Tournament seeding meeting, Hillsborough went out and proved it deserves to be regarded as a favorite with an impressive 6-1 victory over the Cougars Thursday afternoon. The Raiders enjoyed the victory but didn’t celebrate too much because they realize this is just the beginning of what could be a three-part saga between them and Montgomery.
"Give credit to the kids," HHS head coach Cheryl Iaione said afterward. "They knew what they had to do. They felt Montgomery deserved the No. 1 seed but they wanted them to notice. We feel like we have to beat them three times if we want to win the conference and county title."
"That seeding doesn’t really mean anything to us," winning pitcher Megan McInaw said. "It’s just a number. We wanted to play hard and beat them."
Montgomery entered the game with a 9-1 record and No. 7 ranking in the state. The Raiders put a dent in that early season resume with a resounding triumph. HHS also moved in front in the Delaware East Division with a 3-0 record entering this week’s home games vs. Bridgewater-Raritan and Immaculata.
The Raiders did all their damage in the third and fourth innings at Montgomery. They had base runners in every inning and finished with nine hits, but scored one in the third and five in the fourth.
Christine Murphy opened the third inning with a line drive single to center. She moved to second on a passed ball and took third on Marissa Conard’s ground ball out. Katie Yard delivered the first big hit of the game with a two-out RBI single to right field.
Yard had another huge hit to break the game open in the fourth. The inning started with a series of strange plays and miscues by the Cougars. The Raiders only needed two hits to score five times.
McInaw started the surge by reaching on an error. Kim Arbonies beat out an infield single and she and courtesy runner Lauren Singer moved into scoring position on a wild pitch. Singer slid home safely when Val Buccino’s fielder’s choice grounder turned into a play at the plate. After an out, Murphy reached on a fielder’s choice when the Montgomery infield froze and made no play.
Vanessa Tumminia made it 3-0 when she grounded out to first base. Conard walked to load the bases and Yard smacked a two-run single to right field.
"I knew there were runners on and we needed them to score," Yard said. "I was hoping I’d be safe and that the runners would score."
Yard and courtesy runner Courtney Fedor executed a delayed steal and produced another run to end the inning. Yard got caught in a rundown between first and second long enough to allow Fedor to race home for a 6-0 lead.
That was enough cushion for McInaw, who excelled in her first big divisional battle of the season. The sophomore right-hander kept the Cougars scoreless until the bottom of the seventh. She scattered six hits and one walk while striking out three.
McInaw sat out the previous game vs. Franklin with a muscle strain in her back. Iaione decided to rest her ace and save her for the big start at Montgomery.
"She was outstanding," Iaione said. "I wanted her to throw today and she came up big. A lot of stuff got thrown at her and she handled it well. I knew she could perform at this level."
Like any good pitcher, McInaw used what the umpire was giving her. In this case, that was the inside corner. She busted the Cougars inside all afternoon and they had trouble making solid contact.
"I knew that Montgomery could hit really well and I tried to keep it in on them," McInaw said. "They were standing really close to the plate so I had to jam them inside so they couldn’t get a good piece of the ball."
The Cougars are still looking to avenge the stunning loss they suffered in last year’s county finals. Hillsborough trailed by two runs with two outs and nobody on in the bottom of the seventh before rallying to an amazing 3-2 triumph.
It wouldn’t be a great surprise if these two rivals met again in the SCT championship game. They’ll definitely play May 9 in Hillsborough in a game that could decide the Delaware East Division winner. The county finals are four days later.
"They’re a great team and I’m sure we’ll see them again," Iaione said. "You have to come to play every day."