By Bob Nuse, The Packet Group
TOMS RIVER — It didn’t take long for Robbinsville High softball coach Christine Cabarle to realize there was something different this year about Dana Nielsen.
”That was really outstanding, I was a little bit in shock,” Cabarle said of the Pequannock pitcher who needed just nine pitches to strike out the side in the first inning of Saturday’s Group II state final.
Nielsen didn’t slow down after the first inning, finishing with 19 strikeouts and allowing just one hit in a 3-0 win over the Ravens. A year ago the Ravens got to Nielsen for six hits and two runs on their way to winning the state Group II with a dramatic 2-1 victory. But this year, Robbinsville managed to put the ball in play just three times against Nielsen.
”I did not know we were going to see this,” said Cabarle, whose team got its lone hit in the fourth inning when Rebecca Freeman singled just beyond the reach of the shortstop. “She pitched a lot better than she did last year. I don’t think we had as strong at bats either.
”Not to take anything away from her, but we did not do our job up at bat. In all fairness, half of our girls have not been in that situation before with that kind of pressure.”
The Ravens played for the state title without a senior in the lineup. They made some sparkling defensive plays and got another strong game from their own pitcher as Lauren Fischer tossed a five-hitter and finished with four strikeouts.
But in the end, the offense didn’t have an answer for Nielsen, who struck out the first 11 batters she faced and only allowed two balls to get out of the infield.
”We have not seen a team or a pitcher like this all season,” Cabarle said. “She is better than the Pennsbury girl.”
Despite the offensive woes, the Ravens hung tough with a Pequannock team that finished 30-2. They turned a nifty 5-3-2 double play in the second inning and a 6-4-3 double play an inning later. But Pequannock pushed across three runs on three hits in the fourth and that was enough of a cushion for Nielsen.
”I am very proud of them,” Cabarle said of her team, which finished the season 21-4. “I don’t know how many thousands of girls start off a varsity softball season in March and only a handful make it this far. There is something to be said for that. Anybody playing at this stage has something to be proud of.”

