BORDENTOWN: Sheppard tosses first perfect game

BRHS junior strikes out 14 in win

By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
   Nicole Sheppard is looking forward to a big summer when she can showcase her softball talents for college coaches.
   The Bordentown Regional High School junior already significantly upgraded her resume with a perfect game in a 3-0 win over Palmyra on Friday, and she has the softball to prove it. Sheppard has collected other softballs.
   ”I do, from my no-hitters,” she said, “but this is my perfect game ball.”
   Sheppard was masterful with 14 strikeouts while also going 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sheppard delivered all the run support she needed when she drove home a run in the first inning. Her arm did the rest.
   ”I was pretty excited,” Sheppard said. “I wasn’t thinking about it. I went out there and threw. I had my teammates behind me which helped a lot.”
   While Sheppard was in command throughout the game, she needed a nice play on a ball hit up the middle from Emilia Paciotti to preserve her perfect game.
   ”I kind of just went out there and threw,” Sheppard said. “As the sixth and seventh inning started rolling around, I thought, I’m doing well. I knew in my head I was throwing it. No one said anything because they could jinx it. When I got the last girl out, I was really excited.”
   Fittingly, Sheppard struck out the final batter to close her second shutout of the season, this one without a single base runner.
   ”I’ve been coaching a lot of years, over 25 years, and I’ve only seen at the varsity level a few of these games,” said Bordentown head coach Bob Wilson. “The only other one I saw this year, we were the victim of Emily Bausher (of New Egypt). We got a chance to reciprocate. It’s nice to see it happen. They are very, very rare.”
   Sheppard is certainly treasuring her milestone.
   ”I think this my first one,” she said. “I’ve thrown no-hitters before, but not a perfect game.”
   Sheppard started the season a little slower than she wanted, but picked up a shutout against Cinnaminson. It was similar in that her strong performance in the circle seemed to carry over at the plate.
   ”That was a pretty big game,” Sheppard said. “That was my first shutout of the season. I had two RBIs in that game. I think I went 2-for-4. That game, I think I had bases loaded and no outs and got out of the inning.”
   The other similarity between the two games was how good Sheppard felt. She knew early on it could be a special game.
   ”You can tell,” Sheppard said. “Pitchers can tell when they’re having their on and off day. That day, all my pitches were working. Against Cinnaminson, all my pitches were working.
   ”And in general, I could tell the team vibe was good. We wanted to come out and win a game before a state game. The whole vibe was good. We knew we needed to come out and win a game.”
   The win over Palmyra was the Scotties second in three games going into Tuesday’s scheduled Central Jersey Group III state tournament opener. The 14th seeded Scotties were to play at No. 3 Voorhees with the winner to meet the No. 6 Ewing-No. 11 Snyder winner today.
   ”It’s good to have wins behind you,” Sheppard said. “We were getting ready and hopefully we’ll get another win.”
   Said Wilson: “It’s an opportunity for us. Our record, we’d be a lot different if we won the four games we lost by one. We’d have a whole different season. We’ve had a couple wins recently though, so we feel pretty good going in.”
   Wins have been tough to come by for the young Bordentown team, but the perfect game was a highlight for everyone involved.
   ”Jess Dixon, our catcher, I let her call the game,” Wilson said. “She called a terrific game. Nicole was using her rise ball, curve ball, screw ball, drop and changeup.”
   Wilson has seen Sheppard continue to develop through the season, and she’s a better pitcher as she heads into the summer.
   ”The key,” Wilson said, “is Nicole knew what she had to work on. She continually worked on hitting the corners more with her curve and screw ball, and not presenting any good hitting opportunities for the hitters.”
   There were no hitting opportunities for Palmyra against Sheppard, who has developed into a stronger pitcher with every year. She played mostly second base as a freshman before taking over the pitching duties last year. She’s even more comfortable this year.
   ”I think I’ve been throwing very well,” Sheppard said. “We had a little rough season. Of course, I’ve grown from last season. I’ve worked hard. We’re a young team, and had a rocky season, but I think I’ve pitched well. I’m hoping to continue it next year. It’s going to be our year. It’ll be our senior year for senior year. It’s been a learning year.”
   Sheppard has been developing her pitches and has honed her skills to be tougher to hit.
   ”I’ve worked mostly on placement of my ball,” she said. “Placement is very important and movement of pitches. I started to get a rise ball, which I’ve been using. I’m trying to throw those pitches and work them in and change of speeds and move the ball. Jessica Dixon has been calling the games for me and she’s been doing a good job.”
   Sheppard will continue to pitch and play second base for her West Jersey Witches U-18 Gold travel team. They will be playing in college showcases.
   ”Hopefully I’ll get to be seen more,” Sheppard said. “I definitely want to play in college. That’s my goal for this year.”
   First, though, Nicole Sheppard is focusing on finishing up her junior year for the Bordentown team on a high note, though it will be tough to top her performance against Palmyra.
   ”Pressure is good,” she said. “I like pressure. Pressure motivates me to do better and work harder and prove to myself and others that we can be young but still can make some noise. I think our team has come together a lot from the beginning of the season. We’re going to play our best from now on and hope for the best.”