12’s win state title
Sean Moylan Sports Writer
Lauren Fischer is, first and foremost, a team player.
However, after watching her good friend Rebecca Freeman pitch the Robbinsville 12-year-old Little League All-
Star softball team to big wins in the District 12 and Section 3 title games, the tremendous competitor inside of Fischer was itching to pitch in a big championship game.
On Monday night at Little Ferry’s Charles Mastik Memorial Field, Fischer finally got her chance to pitch in the biggest one of them all and she made the most of it, hurling a two-hitter to lead Robbinsville’s to 3-1 victory over Hanover and the New Jersey 12-year-old Little League All-Star softball state title.
“Lauren (Fischer) had 10 strikeouts today (Monday). She did double up her strikeouts from the first (Final Four) game (a 2-0 win over Hanover). She was throwing hard today,” said Robbinsville manager Jim Freeman. “She wanted it.”
Robbinsville compiled a perfect 13-0 record to win the New Jersey title. The same core group of girls went 13-0 while winning the state title as 10’s in 2006. However, 10-year-olds don’t play on after states. This year, however, Robbinsville has earned the right to play in the Eastern Regional tournament, which will get underway with a 10:00 a.m. game versus Delaware on Saturday in Albany, New York.
For the first time in the entire tournament, Robbinsville didn’t cruise to victory. Robbinsville scored a run in the third when Fischer doubled and her catcher Leanna Gearhart hit a ball to get her in. But in the bottom of the fourth, Hanover answered with a run of its own to knot the game at 1-1.
The score remained that way until the top of the sixth, when Freeman (two hits) led off the frame with a triple to greatly improve her good friend’s chances of winning a championship game. Then with one out, Christine Levering hit a ball to deep in the hole at second base. Hanover’s second baseman, desperate to cut off the go-ahead run, threw home but never really had a chance to get Freeman at the plate. Then Paige Montusesky and Jessica Samel followed with solid bunts to chase home Levering with an insurance run.
In the bottom of the inning, Fischer retired the Hanover lineup in order to close out the contest. She did, however, receive a big defensive boost on the final play.
“Ali Valentin made a great catch in left to end the game,” said Freeman, who also got a handful of sparkling plays by his second baseman Erin Wojton in the contest.
For whatever reason, Robbinsville came out a little flat in the first couple of innings. However Claire Speranza, who played left field in the contest, and some of the other players on the bench pumped up their teammates to get them going. And ýPage=009 Column=001 OK,0028.05þ
Taylor Ponti is always there for her teammates as well.
“The energy from the bench was outstanding the entire game,” added Freeman.
After the win the Robbinsville players released a lot of tension, which had built up over the tournament, and piled on one another in a huge celebration in the middle of the field. They knew in their hearts that they had beaten a great team twice ýPage=009 Column=002 OK,0006.04þ
and that this banner was extra special.
“Hanover is a very tough team. They could have very well won this thing. Unfortunately for them, they had to run into Lauren Fischer twice,” said Freeman.
As 10’s, Fischer, Freeman and Julia Borowski combined for eight no-hitters and a perfect game. Yet while “The Unhittables” gave up a few more base ýPage=009 Column=003 OK,0006.04þ
knocks this time around, they are still perfect in their teammates’ collective eyes.
Freeman and his assistant Andy Fischer have assembled the kind of team that can get to the Little League World Series. However, from here on out nearly every team Robbinsville is going to face will be like Hanover or better.
“My first goal is to get through pool play,” said FreeýPage=009 Column=004 OK,0006.04þ
man, who is proud of how hard his club works to be great. “We have to find another gear. As good as we’ve been pitching and fielding, we’ve got to kick up the hitting. We’re going to find out what we’re all about.”
BRACKET PLAY
The Robbinsville 12-year-old Little League All-
Star softball team had been so ýPage=009 Column=005 OK,0007.04þ
overpowering during its undeýPage=010 Column=006 Loose,0009.06þ
feated run to a District 12 and Section 3 title that it was a little bit shocking to some Robbinsville fans when Robbinsville ýPage=010 Column=007 OK,0000.00þ
beat Hanover by just a 2-0 score in Friday night’s opener at Little Ferry’s Charles Mastik Memorial Field.
What wasn’t shocking, however, was the way that Robbinsville hurler Lauren Fischer mastered Hanover’s lineup from start to finish. Because that’s what Lauren Fischer does in the circle — she dominates.
“Lauren pitched lights out. She had a one-hitter according to the (official scorer),” said Robbinsville manager Jim Freeman, who actually had marked down Hanover’s sixth-inning hit to short as an error in his score book. But Freeman’s fielders are so good they’re expected to make the difficult plays as well as the easy ones.
Overall, Robbinsville played dazzling defense and 13 of the outs Fischer recorded in the contest were on defensive plays. She also struck out five batters.
Robbinsville scored the only run it would need to win in the second frame. Christine Levering walked with one out and advanced to second when Paige Motusesky’s infield grounder was misplayed. Both runners took an extra base when a ball got away from Hanover’s catcher and Levering scored on Jessica’s Samel’s RBI bunt.
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Then in the fifth, Fischer gave herself some breathing room when she singled in Erin Wojton, who had gotten on with a single of her own, with Robbinsville’s second run of the contest.
By nearly everyone’s admission, the home plate umpire for Friday’s opener had a very wide strike zone and Hanover’s starting hurler Jenn Sanislo, like any good pitcher would in that situation, worked the outside corner to her advantage and she actually carried a no-hitter into the fifth frame.
Before the state tournament began, Freeman and his trusty assistant Andy Fischer, had scouted Hanover and some of the other teams and they knew this time around things might be a little tougher than when this group captured a state title as 10’s two years ago. Moreover, it was a little difficult for the girls to adjust to playing on the grass infield baseball field at Little Ferry after playing exclusively on dirt infield fields in the District 12 and Section 3 tournament.
Nonetheless, what makes Robbinsville’s coaches the best in the business is that instead of complaining about calls or their team’s mistakes — mental and physical — they make quick and ýPage=010 Column=009 OK,0000.00þ
accurate evaluations of their team’s performance from game to game and they work on any specific weaknesses in the next practice. But there is never any finger pointing—simply positive energy toward the constant goal of winning. Consequently, after Friday’s 2-0 win over Hanover, Robbinsville brushed up on its hitting in practice and it went out and thumped Harrison 7-1 to advance into this past Monday’s championship contest.
“We worked on getting up their confidence. You know every one of them is a great hitter. You just have to extract it out of them,” said Freeman, whose club smoked 13 hits against Harrison. “We were on the ball that day (Saturday).”
Robbinsville scored a run in the first, two in the second, three in the third and a run in the fifth.
Fischer, a devastating hitter who hits the ball with more authority than many athletic boys her own age, crushed a pair of two-run doubles in the contest to lead Robbinsville’s extra-potent attack. Sweet-swinging Julia Borowski pounded out two hits as well and knocked in a run. Also enjoying two-hit games for Robbinsville were Ali Valentin (two runs scored) and Samel (run scored). Taylor Ponti went 1-for-1 with a run scored and an ýPage=010 Column=010 OK,0000.00þ
RBI. Claire Speranza (1-for-1, run scored), Wojton (single, run scored), Leanna Gearhart (run scored, single) and Rebecca Freeman (single) all got it done at the dish as well.
In the top of the third, Freeman surrendered a run for the first time this all-star tournament. Still she fanned five and hurled a beautiful complete game one-hitter.
“Becky pitched a great game,” added Freeman, of his incredibly gifted daughter’s amazing performance.
As usual, Freeman, who along with Fischer, form “The Unhittables” was helped out by some sensational defense.
“There was an absolutely fabulous catch in the left-field gap by Ali Valentin where she drop-stepped (nicely),” said Freeman, whose star left fielder robbed a Harrison batter of a sure double. “That was probably the play of the entire tournament.”
That’s saying a lot considering all the defensive gems Robbinsville has made in the tourney.
Although Robbinsville is playing a long way from home the people of Little Ferry have welcomed the team with open arms. This is an easy team to fall in love with.
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