Talk about a tough loss. Locked in a scoreless battle with rival Red Bank Catholic in the Monmouth County Tournament’s Red Division final on Saturday, the St. John Vianney girls softball team saw a freak play hand the Caseys the title.
With Vianney’s Diana Sansevera and RBC’s Brittany O’Donnell pitching masterfully for their respective teams throughout the game at Harry Rash Field in Wall Township, it was a bad bounce that was the difference in the bottom of the seventh inning. RBC’s Erica Benn hit a two-out double, then took off for third when a pitch to Allison Lobello squirted away from SJV catcher Kristen Kaelin.
Kaelin’s subsequent throw to third struck Lobello’s bat, then her helmet, before going into the RBC dugout, plating the winning run on the dead ball.
It was a devastating way to lose a classic pitcher’s duel for the Lancers, who fell to 18-3 on the year, and were left hoping for another shot at the Caseys in either the state tournament, or the upcoming Shore Conference Tournament, where they will likely be the top two seeds.
Vianney still leads the season series against the rival Caseys, 2-1, but it is the Caseys who own the county title.
Both teams are among a handful of local teams that qualified for both upcoming postseason tournaments.
SJV and RBC will play in the Non-Public South A bracket of the state tournament, which gets under way next week, while Mater Dei (12-5) will play in the Non-Public South B bracket.
Middletown South (10-10) will look
to score an upset or two in a loaded
Central Jersey Group IV bracket, while Matawan (11-8) is likely to be a tough out in CJ Group II. Keyport is also in the state tournament with its 11-7 record, where the Red Raiders hope to make some noise in the CJ Group I bracket.
In SCT play, the same local teams were awaiting their seedings Monday night, with first-round games needing to be completed by the end of today’s action. The second round must be completed by Saturday, with quarterfinals being played by May 24.
The semifinals are set for May 27 at Rash Field in Wall Township, with the finals scheduled for May 31 at Ocean County College.
– Doug McKenzie