By: John Chester
One defended. Another to defend.
Championships for the Peddie School softball team, that is.
Peddie is the champion of the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) for the second year in a row. And the Falcons began defense of the New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association Prep A championship yesterday. Peddie is after its third Prep A title in a row.
Peddie (now 12-1) began with a 3-0 MAPL win at arch-rival Lawrenceville School on May 3. Peddie is now 8-0 in the MAPL and again the champion, with likely only one league game remaining.
Peddie earned the No. 1 seed in the Prep A Tournament and a bye into the semifinals. The Falcons opened in the tournament yesterday (Thursday), hosting Blair Academy, the No. 4 seed. Blair advanced with a 3-0 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Princeton Day School.
The Peddie-Blair winner will meet the winner of the game between second-seeded Lawrenceville and No. 3 The Hun School for the championship on Tuesday at the home field of the highest remaining seed.
Last year, Peddie defeated Lawrenceville for the Prep A title. If that proves to be the match-up again, Peddie coach Tim O’Reilly believes his squad will have no trouble getting psyched to play Lawrenceville, a team it swept during the regular season.
Cailyn Hennessy took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, settled for a two-hitter (both singles) and did not allow a Lawrenceville runner into scoring position on May 3. She struck out 15 and walked none.
Jamie Boccanfuso had two hits, the first of which was a two-out single in the top of the first inning. She then stole second base and scored the only run Peddie would need on the first of two hits by Fallon Kortmann, a triple to right field.
"Initially, it looked like their right fielder was going to have a play on the ball," said Peddie coach Tim O’Reilly. "But the ball kept spinning away from her toward the line."
The Falcons added one run in the fifth (RBI groundout by Kortmann) and another in the sixth (clutch two-out single by Casey Crowley) to account for the final score.
When asked if his team gets up mentally when it’s time to play Lawrenceville, O’Reilly said, "Always, always, always. Those are definitely games we want to win."
The win kept alive Peddie’s quest for what would be a first an undefeated regular season in the MAPL.
"It’s definitely an objective we’d like to accomplish," O’Reilly said.
Peddie tuned up for the Prep A semifinal by winning at Pennington, 5-1, on Tuesday.
Hennessy again was the winning pitcher, limiting the Red Raiders to five hits. She struck out 16 and did not walk a batter. With the win, Hennessy’s record is now 9-1.
Pennington got its only run off Hennessy in the first inning. However, the Red Raiders squandered a chance to do more damage. With the run in and only one out, Pennington had the bases loaded. Hennessy got out of the jam by recording a strikeout and inducing the next batter to ground out.
It took Peddie until the top of the fourth to tie the game. With two outs, Boccanfuso hit a double and scored on a ground single to center by Kelly Crowley.
O’Reilly, who is the third-base coach when Peddie bats, took a chance sending Boccanfuso home as the Pennington center fielder had the ball before she reached third base.
However, Pennington’s pitcher cut off the incoming throw. Her relay to the catcher was just late as Boccanfuso slid in safely.
With three more hits in this game, Boccanfuso’s team-leading batting average stands at a stellar .780 (32-for-41).
"Jamie has been locked in at the plate," O’Reilly said. "She’s been very disciplined to not chase bad pitches. And when she gets her pitch, she is hitting it with authority to all fields."
Peddie put the game out of reach by scoring three runs in the top of the sixth. Christine Ladd delivered the big hit, a ground-rule double to left field.
O’Reilly was impressed with his team’s demeanor at practice on Wednesday.
"They were definitely focused. Their mode in practice was efficient and quick," he said.
After practice, the team enjoyed a pasta party at the nearby home of sophomore outfielder Lisa Faraci to complete preparation for the Prep A semifinal against Blair yesterday.
O’Reilly said a game Hun that was postponed earlier in the season is unlikely to be rescheduled. That leaves only one opponent between Peddie and an undefeated MAPL season. The Falcons are scheduled to host The Hill School on Saturday at 2 p.m.
