SOFTBALL
By: John Molaro
In sports, sometimes when you win is just as important as how many you win.
For the Hopewell Valley Central High School softball squad, things are coming together nicely and the timing of the victories fits perfectly with the improving record.
The seventh-seeded Lady Bulldogs (13-8) won their fourth consecutive game and eighth of their last nine with an outstanding 2-1 victory over sixth-seeded Ewing Tuesday evening in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals.
HoVal advanced to this evening’s 7 p.m. MCT title contest against top-seeded Steinert at Armstrong Park in Ewing.
Junior Courtney Sorg allowed just four hits and struck out four Blue Devils to earn the win. Junior catcher Gina Pagano drove in both HoVal runs with a run-scoring single in the top of the third inning to tie the score at 1-1 and a game-winning infield single in the top of the fifth.
Sophomore outfielder Rosie Rarich and junior shortstop Gina Colati had back-to-back bunt singles in the third and Pagano plated Rarich with her RBI single up the middle.
Senior infielder Ashley Wilson opened the fifth with a single, stole second, went to third on a throwing error by Blue Devil catcher Danielle Brossoie, and scored on Pagano’s infield hit.
A Lady Bulldog team that started slowly has settled into a nice groove and become of the area’s better units.
"Our pitching has just been so good and our defense has always been so good this season," head coach Lois Fyfe said after HoVal pulled off its second straight MCT upset and avenged an earlier loss to Ewing. "We just needed to get on the bats and be confident and we were."
Before disposing of the Blue Devils, the Lady Bulldogs took care of second-seeded Notre Dame to keep that confidence growing.
"We are a different team now then we were earlier in the year," Fyfe said after the seventh-seeded Lady Bulldogs upset the second-seeded Irish, 5-3, in the Mercer County Tournament quarterfinals. "The bats weren’t cranking yet. We were still trying to find who we were."
With Sorg silencing the Irish bats and Pagano smacking a three-run double that sparked a four-run top of the fifth inning, HoVal (12-8) avenged an earlier defeat to ND and advanced to the MCT semifinals to defeat sixth-seeded Ewing. Sorg allowed just five hits, struck out seven, and didn’t walk a batter.
"Courtney has been throwing real well," added Fyfe. "Notre Dame beat us in the third game of the year. We’ve beaten everyone the second time."
Rarich supported Sorg with two runs batted in as the Lady Bulldogs looked a lot different than the team held to one run by ND early in the schedule.
"The girls knew they could win," Fyfe said. "The girls were confident coming into this game. Right after a May 2 loss to Ewing everything started to click. We are a new team now and we know that we can have our inning."
Sorg struck out nine Pirates in a 4-3 home victory over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on May 11. Sophomore Emily Frank drove in a pair of runs while Pagano and Colati each had an RBI.
"We talked about giving away runs late in the game," added Fyfe after South made things interesting with three runs in the top of the seventh. "We are scoring as many runs as we need to do and holding on to win. That’s a lot different than early in the year when we would score early and not be able to hold the lead. With the pitching we are getting, we don’t have to score a lot of runs to win."
Pagano led an 18-hit attack with five RBI as the Lady Bulldogs on the road out slugged Lawrence 16-10 on May 10. Pagano’s three-run triple keyed a four-run top of the fifth and added a two-run single in an 11-run sixth. Rarich, sophomore third baseman, and senior outfielder Sam McGraw each drove in a run and winning pitcher Frank went 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI and Colati was 5-for-5.
"We started slowly but finished nicely," Fyfe said. "The girls got riled up in the middle of the game and started to make things happen. It was a back-and-forth game and I told the girls we should be in control. The girls had their big inning and that was the game. There is a lot of confidence now and the girls know they can make things happen and take control of a game."
With an NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III Tournament bid in their back pocket and the county finals straight ahead, the Lady Bulldogs want to keep the good times rolling.
"There is a lot more confidence in this team," added Fyfe. "You can see it in the way they start the game and how they don’t get down if they are trailing. It’s a different dugout that it was in the beginning. Everyone’s in the game and there’s a good feeling that we are going to win when we take the field. We also had some injuries in the middle of the year. Everyone is healthy now."
HoVal has turned things around with solid pitching, good defense, and those cranked-up bats. With the victories comes that growing confidence. And not a moment too soon.
"We are playing great softball at the right time," Fyfe said.
Steinert has been warned.
NOTES: Seedings for the CJ III bracket should be announced later this week. The first-round games are scheduled for Tuesday, May 23.
The Lady Bulldogs are scheduled to play their first-round game next Tuesday (May 23) at the higher-seeded team’s field.HoVal’s MCT semifinal game against Ewing scheduled for Monday was postponed because of rain and moved to Tuesday.