HILLSBOROUGH: Spring season brings challenges

by Rudy Brandl, Sports Editor
   It’s time to get outside for some spring scholastic sports action. Let’s hope the weather cooperates.
   The spring is the most unpredictable of the three scholastic athletic seasons. Weather plays a major role and causes havoc for teams, coaches and athletic directors. Wet fields keep teams from playing and practicing outdoors. Teams get backed up in their schedule, which often creates problems for baseball pitching staffs. It’s difficult for coaches, teams or the media to plan ahead because the weather is so crazy.
   While I love those warm 70-degree afternoons covering a ball game or walking around a track and field complex in between events, the spring has become my least favorite season to cover. Those wet, damp and raw days make it very unpleasant to be outside for any reason, let alone stand or sit still shivering under layers of clothing.
   That can be particularly annoying while covering a game that is not being timed. Baseball and softball can go on forever, especially if the game is not well-pitched or well-played defensively. An umpire who squeezes the strike zone can turn a tidy two-hour baseball game into an unmanageable three-hour marathon. Since these contests are not timed, they also tend to get ugly sometimes. I’ve covered many crisp 2-2 games that turned into 9-2 blowouts because of one bad inning. That kills the story.
   At least during football, if it’s frigid, a blowout, or both, the clock is running.
   The mercy rule saves some of that time, but I’ve been at more than my share of nine-run deficit games where the winning team never takes that 10-run lead. Worse, they go up by 10 or more only to see the losing team chip away to keep the game going.
   Stormy springs haven’t caused as many problems for Hillsborough High’s teams since the school started playing on its stadium turf field. Half of the school’s 10 spring teams tend to stay on schedule. Very few lacrosse games have been postponed since the HHS turf era. The track and field teams usually compete in any kind of weather, even snow, while the boys play volleyball indoors.
   Baseball, softball, tennis and golf, which comprise the other five of the 10 HHS spring sports, remain the sports hardest hit by inclement weather. Wet fields, courts and courses often force the postponement of contests, causing havoc for coaches, athletes, athletic directors and the media. Bad weather also affects practices and creates crowded gymnasiums. Golf teams are at the mercy of the course or club facility where practices, matches and tournaments are scheduled.
   The only time-friendly element of the spring is how quickly it goes by. It really is a sprint. Before you know it, the seniors will be graduating. However, the athletic season for many teams will end a month before that. Teams that don’t qualify for state competition could be finished by the third week in May.
   Even the Somerset County Tournaments are fast and furious. It’s not drawn out over five Saturday’s in January and February like during soccer or basketball season. When HHS won three straight county softball titles from 2004-2006, those championship runs were accomplished in eight-day spans. Both SCT lacrosse tourneys begin with preliminary and quarterfinal round games played with only one day in between.
   While the spring can be frustrating for a reporter, it also contains some of my favorite events on the scholastic calendar. The county baseball semifinals and finals at Commerce Bank Park in Bridgewater have become an annual favorite since the Raiders have been perennial participants during this decade. Watching the Raiders play in the big ballpark has been a real treat. I’m expecting them to get back there to challenge Immaculata again this spring.
   The county softball championship game at North Branch Park has become another fave. It always draws a big crowd and the girls get really pumped up playing under the lights. The Raiders have won some real thrillers on those May Saturday nights in recent years.
   The NJSIAA Meet of Champions, one of my favorite events of the school year, is scheduled for June 3. Hillsborough always has championship contenders and usually leaves South Plainfield with a few state medals.
   I’ve always marked the outdoor Meet of Champs as the scholastic sports finale. Unless a team advances to a state final, the track and field championship meet is the final event for your school.
   Hillsborough expects to generate plenty of excitement on the diamonds, track, fields, courts and courses this spring. Great teams and athletes will be on display.
   The girls’ lacrosse team boasts four Division 1 athletes and hopes to defeat rival Bridgewater-Raritan for conference, county and sectional supremacy. The softball, boys’ volleyball and both track teams will try to defend their division titles. The baseball team returns most of its starters and should be a contender in every tournament. Kristina Wagner is one of the state’s finest female golfers. Ebony Young will be one of the favorites to win the gold medal in the triple jump at the Meet of Champions.
   There will be plenty of action and excitement at Hillsborough this spring. Don’t blink – because it will go quickly.