By Jeff Appelblatt
Woodbridge High School’s softball team is proving it’s able to surprise its opponents at just the right time.
George Bishop Ahr High School, the No. 4 seed in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC) Tournament, knows Woodbridge (10-12) can be much better than its record displayed. The 13-seeded Barrons went to Bishop Ahr May 14 and upset the Trojans, 2-1.
The low-scoring win was largely because of the pitching. Jordan Cinelli (6-10) arguably had her best performance on the mound in her two years with Woodbridge. Not only had Bishop Ahr won eight straight entering the May 14 game, but it had scored at least six runs in six of those victories. But the Trojans’ hot bats cooled off against Cinelli. The sophomore gave up one run in the first inning, and it was clear sailing from there.
One run proved to be all Cinelli could afford to give up. Bishop Ahr pitcher Katie Eicher looked to be cruising, too, aside from the three batters she hit with her throws. The game went into the final inning tied, 1-1. Eicher knocked in the first run of the day for the Trojans; Brooke Timinski did the same for the Barrons.
In the final frame, Kendra Tobias made it on base for Woodbridge. The Barrons were back at the top of their batting order. The first three batters had no hits on the day, but walks haunted Eicher and a few runners made it on base, leading to a chance in the box for Woodbridge standout Carly Kjersgaard. As the .500 hitter has so often done for the Barrons, she knocked a hit through to score Tobias.
Then it was back to Cinelli for the last stanza. Sure enough, she did her job, retiring the Trojans in the bottom of the seventh, wrapping up the 2-1 win for Woodbridge.
Woodbridge will have to continue being at the top its game to defeat East Brunswick High School in the second round May 18 at 5 p.m. in East Brunswick. The Bears (15-5) enter as winners of seven of their last eight games.
The most recent victory for East Brunswick was in the first round of the GMC Tournament. Senior Kahleigh Dwyer struck out seven and gave up only three hits to the team from Old Bridge High School on the way to the 10-1 win. All nine of the Bears’ batters had at least one hit, including Ashli Venokur, who knocked in a team-high three runs.
Baseball
Any victories early in the GMC Tournament wouldn’t be much of a surprise for Woodbridge’s baseball team. The boys were given the fourth seed in the tournament, which began with the play-in games May 11.
Woodbridge, however, had off until May 16, following the play-in games and the preliminary round.
Thanks to a win May 13 in the preliminaries, No. 13-seed Colonia High School was Woodbridge’s first tournament opponent May 16 in Woodbridge. The Patriots defeated South Amboy High School, 4-1, behind Chris Michael’s five innings on the mound and three hits at the plate.
Despite the better ranking and record for the Barrons (16-6), Woodbridge and Colonia split a pair of games this season prior to the tournament. Woodbridge pounced on the Patriots, 11-1, May 2 in Woodbridge. Ace pitcher Harry Rutkowski fanned 15. On the other side of the ball, he batted 2-for-4 with a home run. A day later in Colonia, the Patriots (13-7) returned the favor, defeating the Barrons, 5-2.
The winner of the May 16 game will play again May 18 in the quarterfinals. Carteret High School beat Bishop Ahr in the preliminary round and moved on to face Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen May 16. The winner of that game will play against either Woodbridge or Colonia in the quarterfinals.