Robbinsville softball wins MCT title
By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
Becca Freeman has been a part of some big softball wins in her career, yet winning the Mercer County Tournament on Thursday in Ewing ranks as high as anything.
Freeman delivered a hit and insurance RBI in the 4-0 win over Allentown in the championship game after driving home the only run in a 1-0 semifinal win over West Windsor-Plainsboro South on Tuesday.
”It feels better than I imagined,” said Freeman, the sophomore catcher. “When we won MCTs, I haven’t been this excited to play a softball game since the Little League World Series. After, it was the most amazing feeling ever.”
Freeman was a part of the first Robbinsville team to reach the Little League World Series in 2008.
”It’s what we’re identified by,” Freeman said. “This felt bigger than Little League. We’re older. It felt more important because we’re older.”
Robbinsville is building its identity as a high school power now. This year’s team is the first Robbinsville team to win a county championship. Lauren Fischer allowed just four hits while striking out five. Fischer went the distance in the 10-inning shutout of WW-P South. Fischer also had an RBI against Allentown. Nicole Piet had a pair of hits and runs and Christine Levering was 3-for-4 and scored two runs. Gabby Leach had the Ravens other hit.
”It feels really good,” said Robbinsville head coach Christine Cabarle. “It is a big deal. They wanted it from the beginning. There’s not much more I could ask for at this point.”
With the MCT title win, the Ravens improved to 17-0. With every win, there is pressure to maintain the streak.
”The longer you are undefeated, the harder it is to stay undefeated,” said Cabarle, who reminds her team of their position frequently. “People that are out of the division (title race), out of the state tournament, they’re looking to break your unbeaten streak. There are lessons to be learned from losing that we can only take from last year because we haven’t had the experience this year.”
Last year’s experience was on the minds of the Ravens as they opened the MCT. Robbinsville fell to Steinert early last year.
”Last year, that made us so mad,” Freeman said. “Steinert was one of our big rivals and we get them first round and lose. It was always in the back of our minds. It kind of kept us going.
”We were a little bit nervous. We didn’t really know what to expect this year, but we were confident. We know we have a strong team and know we’re all really well bonded. We didn’t know what to expect because of losing so early last year.”
And with the unbeaten record, the Ravens continued to get everyone’s best. In the semifinal marathon, nothing was decided until Freeman smacked a double in the 10th inning.
”To win that way, it kind of made us a little more nervous and a little more confident at the same time,” Freeman said. “We said, we never want to have that happen again. We were just saying, I can’t believe we just won that.”
Said Cabarle: “I knew that playing South was going to be one of our most difficult contenders. They’re well coached, and they usually find a way to a win, and South’s girls and Robbinsville’s girls have played together for years. That brings a whole other element to the table.”
Two days later in the title game, Robbinsville got two runs in the first inning as Levering stole home and Fischer helped herself with a sacrifice fly.
”We were playing most of our games 0-0 until the fifth or sixth inning,” Cabarle said. “And with South it was until the 10th inning. Getting a couple runs early was a total relief.”
It helped make Fischer that much tougher, particularly with the Robbinsville defense making plays all over the field.
”That built up our confidence,” Freeman said. “It helped Lauren a lot. We didn’t have the best of warm-ups. She knew we needed to hit this game. That gave her so much more confidence going in.”
Fischer didn’t need any more help as she posted her second straight shutout to earn Most Valuable Player honors. She allowed just one run in the MCT, in the Ravens 3-1 win over Lawrence in the quarterfinals, and Fischer credited Freeman’s pitch-calling for some of her success.
”I was just trying to keep her throwing what was working and keep batters off balance,” Freeman said. “I kept thinking, ‘If I was hitting off Lauren Fisher, what would I expect right now?’”
Freeman and Fischer have been more effective together in their second year together in high school.
”I think the fact that having Fischer and Becca with that year of experience under their belt makes a big difference,” Cabarle said. “They’ve had experience with travel and Little League, but it’s different when you get to high school. It’s amazing how much they’ve grown in a year. But they were 15 years old last year.
”They’re like connected,” she said. “They have been a battery together outside of high school. Sometimes Becca goes with Fish to her pitching lesson. They play on the same travel team and they’re best friends. They’re elements there that a coach can’t put into place. She’s very good at what she does. She is hard on herself, as Fisher is on herself. They are each other’s biggest fans too.”
Fischer and Freeman still are working to prove they’re not just Little League stars. They are both improved over last year. Fischer is a more dominant pitcher, and nothing seems to rattle her.
”There’s a command about her this year that wasn’t necessarily there last year,” Cabarle said. “This year, she’s a strikeout pitcher. If she’s not getting calls, she throws harder and harder and harder.”
Said Freeman: “Lauren definitely got a lot stronger. Her pitches move a lot more. Her change-up has definitely improved. It’s a knockout pitch. Her pitches have improved a lot.”
Freeman provides defense and steadiness behind the plate for Fischer, and she’s also one of the top hitters for the Ravens.
”Becca has given us more RBIs this year,” Cabarle said. “She gets frustrated with her hitting even though she’s hitting over .300. She had the winning RBI against West Windsor and she had an RBI against Allentown that sealed the deal.”
The two are part of a Robbinsville group that has already made program history with the MCT win. With one championship secured, they will turn their focus to the Group II state tournament.
”I think it’s going to make us try even harder,” Freeman said. “States is next and last year we lost in the second round, I think. That made us really mad. The success combined with that is pushing us so much farther to want to be better.
”Me and Laura talked about it. We talked about building off what happened last year. We can build of the experience and help us be better.”
The Ravens are rolling with all their pieces functioning well together. They have the pitching and hitting and defense to contend with anyone.
”All the girls get along well,” Cabarle said. “I don’t deal with any attitudes. The girls when there have been a couple times when there have been errors, they take care of it themselves, whether it’s Becca, Lauren or Piet. They’ve put high expectations on themselves. This is the first year we’ve had that. As soon as we come in to the dugout, someone is speaking up.”
The higher standards have helped bring the Ravens the MCT championship they never had before.
”It helps,” Freeman said. “It’s just building confidence. If you win one thing, you want to win the next thing more. The level of play goes up and you just want to win more.”

