Hopewell Valley softball
By: Jim Green
The Hopewell Valley Central High School softball team already knows it can beat anyone on any given day, so a loss in the Mercer County Tournament consolation bracket hardly is cause for panic.
The Lady Bulldogs simply had a slow day with the bats Tuesday, suffering an 8-0 loss to West Windsor-Plainsboro South at CHS. Hopewell (8-7 overall, 4-4 in the Colonial Valley Conference), which beat the Pirates 2-1 on April 11, managed just four hits off pitcher Katy Hubbard.
"We haven’t been hitting well," Hopewell senior catcher Becca Rhebergen said. "Last time we played them, we hit the ball well. Today (Tuesday), we didn’t swing the bats as well. We just haven’t been putting the ball in the right spots. They made some nice plays."
The Lady Bulldogs continued fighting to the final out, with Rhebergen throwing out the Pirates’ Becky Peters on an attempted steal in the seventh, and Courtney Sorg attempting to trigger a rally with a one-out single in the eighth. But they were unable to threaten a comeback against the Pirates.
"It always hurts when you lose, but any time you lose, you take something from it," Rhebergen said. "We need to put the ball in play and keep a good attitude."
The Lady Bulldogs won two of their previous three, including a 10-0 thrashing of Princeton in five innings Monday at CHS. Sophomore right-hander Courtney Sorg pitched a solid game, picking up her eighth win of the season, and knocked in two runs, while senior shortstop Lindsay Sorg had a double and three RBIs.
Sophomores Gina Colati and Gina Pagano each drove in two runs, and Rhebergen had a triple and an RBI.
On Friday, Hopewell fell to Nottingham 9-4. Pagano had a double and an RBI, and Rhebergen, Elise Renoe and Rosie Rarich each had RBIs, but Hopewell could not slow down the Nottingham offense, which pounded out 15 hits.
Two days earlier, the Lady Bulldogs snapped a mini two-game losing streak with a 5-4 win over Hightstown. Pagano had a double and two RBIs, Rhebergen knocked in a run, and Courtney Sorg earned the win.
The Lady Bulldogs, who were scheduled to face Hamilton on Wednesday, will play host West Windsor-Plainsboro North at 4 p.m. Friday and Ewing at 3:45 p.m. Monday. They then play at Delaware Valley on Tuesday and home to North Hunterdon on May 13. They must win two of those five games in order to have the necessary .500 record to qualify for the state tournament on the May 13 cutoff.
"You’re always nervous about qualifying for states," Rhebergen said. "We’re only one game over .500. The closer it gets, the more nervous you become about it."