By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
It was a lot tougher than two years ago, but the end result was just what the Robbinsville 12-year-old all-star softball team had been playing for all summer.
They topped Pequannock, 9-0, last Tuesday to win the state championship and advance to the Eastern Region tournament in Bristol, Conn. To pull off the title, Robbinsville had to win three straight after Pequannock beat them, 5-2, to start the double-elimination state tournament.
”I think it helps us a lot,” said Robbinsville manager Keith Motusesky, whose team opened East Region play with three straight wins. “The girls’ confidence is soaring now. The practices are crisper. They’re always into it, but it’s even higher. They’re confidence is really, really high.”
Robbinsville came back from losing its opener to top Hammonton, 7-4, in eight innings. The game was suspended when bad weather hit twice and had to be finished on Monday. Later that night, they got a measure of revenge on Pequannock with a 13-1 win to force the decisive if-necessary game.
”We had a real hard time,” Motusesky said. “Hammonton was a real solid team that could hit. We came back to beat them in eight innings. We had a rough game the first time we got beat by Pequannock. When we got them in the last two games, we played our game.”
Robbinsville had gone unbeaten as 10-year-olds in their march to a state championship. This time, with their backs against the wall every game after falling in the opener, the Robbinsville crew made the plays in their first elimination games they’d faced in Little League play.
”We’ve had some tough games in districts and sectionals before, but they were never in doubt,” Motusesky said. “It was never ‘if we lose, we’re out.’ It was good to see how they respond. We were down, 3-2, with a two and a half hour rain delay against Hammonton. We got up and the girls got some nice hits and took the lead. We made a defensive mistake and they tied it, but then we got the win.”
In avenging their first loss to Pequannock in an elimination game Monday, Sophie Billings fired a five-inning no-hitter in the 13-1 win. In the championship, Sara Motusesky held Pequannock to four hits in the 9-0 shutout. Motusesky had also pitched the first seven innings against Hammonton before Billings pitched the eighth inning.
”I think our pitching the whole all-star year has been solid,” the elder Motusesky said. “They’re not walking batters, throwing strikes. We’re letting them put the ball in play. Our defense, with Chelsea Manto at second base and Lauren Kiszely at first, they make every play. It gives the pitchers confidence they don’t have to strike everyone out. They can let them hit and we’ll make plays. Sophie Billings has stepped into her own and Sara is probably our ace. There’s not a lot of fear in them.
”The team is built on defense and pitching.”
It’s the second state title in three years for the group that includes Billings, Annie Brunner, Danielle Heulitt, Kellie Hoffman, Kiszely, Megan Kratz, Lauren Kroepfl, Manto, Motusesky, Sara Toscano and Rianne Walsh. All 11 of them were a part of the team that also won the district, section and state titles as 10-year-olds before going to regionals.
”Really there’s not much difference in them,” Motusesky said. “They’ve gotten better. Obviously they’re a better hitting team. We were there with pitching last time. We have the same pitchers. I think we’re a better hitting team. When it all comes down to it, we win with pitching and defense.”
Some offense helped lift them past Hammonton. Billings had a hit in the three-run eighth inning and Kroepfl scored the winning run while running for her. Walsh, Kiszely and Toscano had RBI in the win. Brunner and Toscano doubled. That offense continued the next game against Pequannock in the 13-run outburst.
Sara Motusesky struck out seven, and her offense helped plenty with nine runs to seal the state crown the next day with a convincing win over Pequannock. Brunner remained hot with a triple and RBI, one of her two hits in the game. Toscano also delivered again with a pair of hits, while Billings drove in a pair of runs.
”We played both those teams during states as 10-year-olds,” Keith Motusesky said. “We knew they both would be solid. We always think we’re the best team. They pushed us to the limit. Both of them got a lot better. They were solid offensively and defensively. It took a wake-up call after the Pequannock game to say it’ll take our best softball to win and they did.”
He’s hoping that continues at the regional. Robbinsville is in the Mid-Atlantic division. They won their opener, 8-0, over Bear, Del., Saturday, then topped the Pennsylvania representative, 7-3, Sunday after scoring six runs in the first three innings. Motusesky had a pair of hits, and she and Heulitt each drove in a pair of runs against Pennsylvania. Billings allowed just one hit and struck out four. On Monday, Robbinsville topped New York, 1-0.
”Without a doubt, experience can only help,” Motusesky said. “We’ve already been to regionals as 10s. Going through a hard state tournament will make them mentally tough. The goal at the beginning of the year was to win states, and now that we’ve done that, we set our goals a little higher. Now that we’re here, we might as well try to win it.
”We think our team is solid. We’ll need a few breaks here and there, but we think we have a shot to go on and win it.”
Two years ago, Robbinsville didn’t suffer their first loss until regionals. Now they know that they can lose a game and still fight back. If they can fight back through regionals, they will be keeping alive a tradition that has seen two previous Robbinsville contingents advance to the World Series. Those teams set the bar high, but it’s not a daunting goal but a motivation for this year’s group.
”My oldest daughter went to the World Series and so did Chelsea Manto’s sister,” Motusesky said. “So they’re thinking about this when they’re 8-9 years old. They expect to win, they really do.”

