By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
By the second time that Katie Gademsky faced East Brunswick, she had established herself as the reliable every game pitcher for the Hillsborough High School softball team.
The sophomore came up with her biggest strikeout of the season, a third strike that froze East Brunswick’s Gabrielle Kelliher with the bases loaded in the seventh inning to give the Raiders a 6-4 win for their second straight Central Jersey Group IV championship.
”I always think about it, and it actually happened,” Gademsky said of the game-ending strikeout. “I don’t think I’ve had a bigger one.
”I felt a little bit of pressure,” she added, “but I knew if it was in play, my fielders would field it.”
Donna Conrad sparkled again at the plate for the Raiders. The senior right fielder was 3-for-3 for the second straight game, this time with a pair of doubles, three RBI and two runs scored. Cayleen Rizo and Kelly Amen each went 2-for-3. Rizzo doubled and drove in a pair of runs. Taryn Grober, Jess Santelli, Alyssa VanDerveer and Nicole Wishard all collected hits in the win.
”It’s very special,” said Raiders head coach Cheryl Iaione after her team improved to 25-1 in adding a sectional title to its Somerset County Tournament and Skyland Conference crowns. “It’s one of the goals we set in the beginning of the season. It’s the most season victories we’ve had. To get the three titles, it’s been a lot of fun. The kids have worked hard and they deserve it.”
Twice, the offense had to come back after East Brunswick had taken leads. Hillsborough trailed, 2-0, after the first inning, and 3-2, after the top of the fifth inning.
”My offense helps,” Gademsky said. “We’re posting like 14 runs, 11 runs, eight runs. We can always come back no matter what the score is. Nos. 1-9, there’s not one person that can’t hit.”
Gademsky scattered nine hits and allowed four runs. She struck out five and walked two. She let her fielders do the rest.
”We saw pretty early that Katie is a special pitcher,” Iaione said. “And the girls have the ability to put up a lot of runs. That allowed her to stay relaxed.”
Gademsky was still adjusting to her bigger role the first time she faced East Brunswick in the regular season. She was one of three pitchers HHS used on their junior varsity last year and all of a sudden was pitching every day for the defending CJ IV champions.
”I had no idea I’d be pitching this much until a couple games in,” Gademsky said.
East Brunswick was a big turning point in her development. Gademsky was coming off her first loss of the season — to North Hunterdon — when she held the Bears to three hits in a 1-0 win back on Apr. 12.
”The first couple games, we played a couple easier teams and it was a confidence boost,” Gademsky said. “Then we lost to North. I guess it helps to know there were good teams in our conference. It was a learning experience for me. It did boost my confidence.”
She stayed consistent for the Raiders, and 26 games later, she is still their regular pitcher and that North Hunterdon game is the only one that the Raiders have lost.
”We’ve had kids every year, when we graduate a senior, we have a sophomore or junior step in,” Iaione said. “Maybe winning 23 games is a surprise, but for her to perform, it’s not a surprise. She’s a very cool kid on the mound. It’s hard to tell if she’s winning or losing. She doesn’t get rattled. She’s a young kid. Maybe inside she feels that, but doesn’t show it. Having a senior Alyssa behind the plate is good for her.”
Said Gademsky: “It’s actually really exciting. I didn’t think I’d be able to do it since we did lose a lot of big people last year. Our defense and offense is outstanding. Nos. 1-9, we all hit. We don’t have a weak link. Even our bench is great.”
It all wraps into a new confidence that has developed over her first varsity season. She is finishing her season with more faith in herself than she had in the early games. Gademsky kept her cool when she gave up a two-run home run in the first inning in the CJ IV title game Friday.
”I gave that home run up the first inning,” Gademsky said, “and we weren’t scoring but I just knew, because we did it in the county game, I just knew we were going to come back and score two runs. Two runs for my offense is nothing.”
The Raiders took until the fourth inning to even things up Friday. VanDerveer singled, Conrad doubled her home and Amen singled home Conrad to knot the score, 2-2. East Brunswick went up, 3-2, the next inning before the Hillsborough offense erupted in the bottom of the fifth.Santelli’s blooper loaded the bases and Conrad’s two-out double scored two runs to give Hillsborough the lead for good. Rizo then doubled to push in two more runs to make it 6-3.
”They’re very driven,” Iaione said. “When you get behind, 2-0, you know you have a lot of game left. They were a good team, but I knew we could come back. They were hitting the ball. The second time through the lineup, we really hit the ball well.
”The hitting is the most important thing. We just have to keep getting good swings and being patient. You have to keep getting good at bats. You have read the pitcher and remain confident in each other.”
East Brunswick pulled back within two runs on a bases-loaded single, and that brought up Kelliher, the same batter who had homered in the first inning. This time, Gademsky won the battle.”She was one of the best batters on their team,” Gademsky said. “All the papers say she struck out. She was a great hitter. She just go unlucky.”
Gademsky had a lot to do with it. She knew how to react in a tough spot.
”Growing up, my parents, they always kept me in the situations I needed to be in,” Gademsky said. “When I’m in these situations, I don’t freak out. Being on varsity was a learning experience for me.”
With the win, the Raiders advanced to take on Washington Township in the Group IV state semifinal in a game scheduled for Wednesday. It is a rematch of last year’s semifinal that Washington won.
”This senior class wants to be the first one to Toms River,” Iaione said of making the state final. “It’s our second time in two years. Hopefully we’ll come out on top.”
Hillsborough’s group has not won a state title. This year’s group started out with some question marks, and pitcher was one of them. Gademsky has filled that void ably, and the Raiders have met every goal so far.
”Winning the group title would be very special,” Iaione said. “No one can take away what we accomplished this year, which is a whole lot.
”They’re a group that likes each other,” she added. “They have a bond that’s hard to explain. You have to see it on a daily basis. They’re a loose group. It’s a senior group that I’ve known them since they were 10 years old. At this point, no one wants to see it end.”
