Call it a small miracle, but the East Brunswick 10 and under B softball team pulled off a dramatic upset by capturing the Hazlet tournament recently with an 11-9, extra-inning triumph over Sayreville.
Losing 9-1 at one point, E.B. fired back with 10 unanswered runs as pitcher Samantha Ur settled down to stifle the opposition with five scoreless innings.
"It was a surprise," said Coach Mary Norris, vice president of East Brunswick Softball. "They (Sayreville) had beaten us 8-2 in the seeding round with two really phenomenal pitchers."
Overall, E.B. was 4-1 for the tournament, beating out 11 other clubs. Not bad for a team with an overall losing record this summer and eight 9-year-olds out of 14 girls on the roster.
"Everything just came together for us in this tournament," said Norris, who is assisted by Steve Costello, Dan Ostin and Bob Inglhofer.
Looking over the rest of the lineup, Jennifer Bennett is behind the plate with her sister, Kristen, at third base, and Nicole Bornkamp is in the outfield.
Shannon Costello is another outfielder, along with Kelly Inglhofer, Shannon Nulty, Jackie O’Connor and Sara Racek.
At shortstop, E.B. plays Lauren Miele, with team captain Tara Nulty at first base and pitching.
Gulia Orent is the extra hitter. Dallas Ostin is at second and Elise Roughan fills in behind the plate and plays outfield.
With the Hazlet tournament win under their belts, East Brunswick went to the Sayreville tournament over the weekend, hoping to retain its magic touch.
— Richard Jerome