BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA
Staff Writer
The Old Bridge High School softball team was hoping the third time would be the charm in yesterday’s Greater Middlesex Conference tourney quarterfinal game against. J.P. Stevens.
The Lady Knights lost both regular season contests against Stevens, the second by a 2-1 count in eight innings, so coach Sue Klein was looking forward to the third go round.
"In each game, it really came down to one play that cost us," she said. "I thought we really played well the second time and I think we can beat them."
Overall, the Lady Knights own a 16-9 record despite batting just .216 as a team, as only Jaime Capra and Nicole Riggio are above the .300 mark. Fortunately, the Old Bridge pitching and defense has held up.
Capra, who will attend Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., in the fall, where she plans to play basketball, is an excellent defensive shortstop. She is batting .325 with 25 hits, including two homers, and 14 runs to lead Old Bridge in all four categories.
Riggio, a sophomore, is a point back at .324 with a team-leading 15 RBIs and eight doubles.
First baseman Jen Vittorino is at .279 and second baseman Kaitlin Calogera is hitting .265; both are sophomores.
On the mound, the Lady Knights have been without Jackie Battaglino, who is out with an injury suffered in gym class. Fellow sophomore Amy Sievert has done the pitching in her absence.
Battaglino and Sievert are a formidable duo. Battaglino is 8-4 with a 0.55 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 101 innings, while Sievert is 7-5 with a 0.52 ERA and 81 strikeouts in 81 innings of work.
Klein’s team also qualified for the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group IV tourney, where they were eliminated by Rancocas Valley, 2-1. Capra accounted for the lone Old Bridge run with a homer, breaking Rancocas Valley’s streak of 104 consecutive scoreless innings, and just the sixth run RV has allowed all season.