by Rich Fisher, Sports Editor
Hitting up and down the lineup.
Check.
Not one, but two reliable pitchers.
Check.
Improved defense.
Check.
Indeed, the checklist for the South Brunswick High softball team seems to be complete and the result was a 6-3 record and four-game winning streak that was snapped in a 3-2 loss to Carteret Tuesday.
”In our last three games, we’ve hit .475 and had six hits in each game,” coach Danielle Matlack said prior to the Ramblers loss. “In softball, you get five or six hits a game, that’s enough.”
Especially when teams have pitching and defense to make one or two runs stand up.
Thus far, Jill Blaine and Rachel Vogel have been stellar in alternating the pitching, while the fielders have come to their aid.
”Rachel is quicker, she’ll go right at you,” Matlack said. “Jill will pitch more around you, tries to get you to go after a bad pitch. We’ve been going with them every other game, but we have the luxury of knowing if one is getting hit around by a team, we can put the other one in.”
But unless a pitcher is striking everyone out, it needs more support than just the catcher.
”We’ve focused on cutting down the physical and mental errors, and that’s been a big plus,” Matlack said. “We went over the chart from last year and showed them how many games we lost directly because of errors we committed. They’ve really responded to that.”
It has added up to one of the Vikings better starts in years. The lineup is deep, as the Mischke sisters – Kristy and Aly – have been coming up big but so have everyone else. From Katie Jansson to Jess Pietrefesa to Danielle Rybinski to Megan Grocholski everyone is coming up with the big hits.
”Even kids who aren’t hitting, are coming up big,” Matlack said. “In the last three games, Ali Grischuk has six walks, so her on-base percentage is up there.”
While Matlack expected this kind of start from her team, she wondered if the players felt the same way after the Vikes graduated some key leaders from last year’s squad.
”I expected this,” the coach said. “I don’t think they did because we lost some key players with great stats. But that group showed us how to do it and this group has carried it on.
”We have very good team chemistry. The girls like each other, they like working with each other. They know when to work and they know when to have fun. We’ve gotten to where we want them to play, the next step is getting them to maintain this play all season because we’ve got some tough games coming up.”
Such as?
”What day of the week do you want?” Matlack said with a laugh. “We’ve just got to keep playing the way we’ve been playing. So far, so good.”

