MHS, Hun, PDS softball all advance
By: Justin Feil
Three shutouts kept alive the tournament title hopes of three Packet-area softball teams.
Tuesday, Hun beat St. Elizabeth, 10-0, in its Prep A state tournament opener while Princeton Day School won, 10-0, over Collegiate in its Prep B state tournament game. Both advanced to semifinal games scheduled for Thursday after deadline, and with wins would play for their respective titles Tuesday.
Wednesday, the Montgomery High School softball team moved within a win of the Somerset County Tournament crown when it beat Mt. St. Mary’s, 2-0, in the semifinals. Kim Dougherty, who was the winning pitcher, doubled to start the third inning. Singles by Anu Rimal and Melissa D’Ercole provided all the runs Dougherty and the Cougar defense would need.
The top-seeded Cougars will play a rematch of last year’s county final 7:30 p.m. against Hillsborough at North Branch Park in Bridgewater. MHS and Hillsborough have split their two meetings this season, with the Cougars winning, 5-2, Tuesday.
"I know we’re very excited to win a county championship and for it to be against them again," said MHS coach Johnny Rooney after his team improved to 17-3. "I think yesterday, beating them, and also handling the pressure in the seventh with the bases loaded, only motivated us and made us a better team for today’s game. It’ll give us some confidence going into Saturday night.
"I think with last year’s two teams neither team had a stronger lineup than we both have this year one through nine. There’s an opportunity for both teams to score some runs. I think it’ll come down to a big inning and I think, it’s truly a rematch and truly a rubber-match."
Last year, the Cougars fell to Hillsborough in a heart-wrenching last inning. Making it to the SCT final was still a big deal. This year, they’re hoping to win it.
"But win or lose, this is most fun I’ve had with this coaching staff and this group of young ladies," Rooney said. "I know it’s only my third year, but it’s so fun coming to the field every day."
Hun and PDS were also hoping to put themselves into familiar matchups for state titles with wins Thursday. The Prep A second-seeded Raiders, who were beaten, 10-0, by Peddie early in the season, has won eight of nine games since then to improve to 9-5. Hun was hoping to stop third-seeded Blair for a third time this year to set up a potential state final against Peddie.
"We try to tell them that this is what they work for," said Hun coach Kathy Quirk. "If you lose your first game, you’re down and out. They want another shot at Peddie. They hit the ball well and had a good defensive game again."
It was the third shutout in four games for Hun, which split with Mercersburg in a doubleheader Sunday. Tuesday, Nikki Caplinger scattered seven hits and had a home run of her own. Alyssa Fares was 3-for-3 with a pair of doubles, Morgan Cawley had a double and triple, and Kristen Klein.
"She’s usually a slapper," Quirk said of Klein. "She plays a little and fills in. She’s a lefty and she hit it right down the line. The look on her face, it was great."
It’s the sort of hit that gives the Raiders some momentum and shows it’s all coming together at the right time. One more win will put them in position to contend for the state title.
"It’s very significant to get to the state finals," Quirk said. "But we have to get past Blair for a third time this season and that’s not going to be an easy challenge. They’re going to come down here looking for vengeance.
"The day I saw Peddie, they were flat. That’s no indication of what will happen when we see them if we beat Blair. If we keep hitting the way we should and play good defense, we should have a good game. But we have to get past Blair first."
PDS, which is the top seed in the Prep B division, handled Collegiate with a balanced attack. Nicole Auerbach held Collegiate to just two hits and collected a pair of hits of her own to lead the Panthers. Elisa Cichonski drove in a pair of runs as PDS improved to 11-3.
"We talked about scoring in the first and second inning and not wanting to wait," said PDS coach Holly Fewkes. "We scored early on and it was great way to start."
The Panthers were scheduled to face Wardlaw-Hartridge on Thursday and with a win could face either second-seeded Pennington or Gill-St. Bernards on Tuesday. It would be the third meeting of the season with Pennington, whom the Panthers have earned a split.
"The first two games we’ve seen teams we haven’t seen before," Fewkes said. "That’s been nice. We’re not seeing teams we’ve seen two or three times already. The No. 1 thing we have is confidence. When we see we can beat public school teams and do it in extra innings, their confidence is high."
The Panthers entered the state tournament on the heels of an eighth-inning win over West Windsor-Plainsboro North. That momentum couldn’t even be dampened when they lost to Prep A top seed Peddie on Saturday.
"That was huge," Fewkes said of beating the Knights. "Then we played Peddie and it didn’t go as well as we expected. But we had scrimmaged West Windsor North on March 30 and we did not win. So to come back and win gave us confidence. And it was our second extra-inning game in a row."
The Panthers are trying to uphold their top seeding as they go for the Prep B crown. They are happy to be able to do so on their own home turf.
"We didn’t talk much about the seed," Fewkes said. "We talked about the advantage of having home games throughout since we’re the top seed. Teams have to beat us at our home.
"I feel like it’s an advantage. We can come over after school to get ready. We don’t have to take a bus. We know our field. Our fans are there. It’s a good feeling. All our losses are on the road. We’re undefeated at home."
PDS is hoping to keep it that way in the state tournament. It would be the perfect culmination to quite a turnaround from a 4-10 season.
"Last year, I didn’t feel our regular season worked out the way we wanted it to," said Fewkes, who is in her first season as head coach. "I honestly don’t remember much of it. Based on our record and how we’re playing, we do expect a lot this year. The girls expect a lot of each other. No one lets down.
"We know we’re a good team. We know we can beat anyone we play."

