Rockets sting Hornets to stay in playoff hunt ED COLLINS, The Courier, May 8 Posted:05/10/08
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It has been an up-and-down season for Raritan’s softball team. The Rockets started off the season red-hot, highlighted by a victory over St. John Vianney. But lately, they’ve been mired in a slump, which included a loss to Holmdel in Hazlet. On Monday afternoon, May 5 the Rockets traveled Holmdel to face off against their Class A Central rivals for a second time.
Behind the pitching of junior Kerilyn Svenson, Raritan came away with a 3-1 win over the Lady Hornets to stay alive for chance at a berth in the upcoming playoffs.
“Our defense has been really solid this year,” said Svenson. “We just need get our bats going. If we start hitting the ball well, we should be unstoppable.”
The Rockets took the lead during the top of the first inning. Third baseman Celeste Dayawon drew a one-out walk. She headed for second after a groundout by right fielder Alyssa Mautone. But as Dayawon tried to head to third, Holmdel (2-12) committed a wild throwing error that eventually caused her to score.
Raritan added another run in the top of the third against Lady Hornet pitcher Kate Brody, who was the winning pitcher in the first meeting. Rocket center fielder Sam Helmstetter led off the frame with a check swing infield single. After Helmstetter stole second, she scored on an RBI single to right by second baseman Melissa Mancuso.
While Brody was experienced a little bit of trouble during the first four innings, Svenson didn’t allow a single base runner. But all that changed in the bottom of the fourth.
Catcher Alexa Martinez walked to start the inning to become Holmdel’s first base runner. One batter later, center fielder Danielle Esposito stroked a single past second to break up the no-hit bid. Runners were now in scoring position with one out. The Lady Hornets attempted a double steal, which proved to be successful. Esposito swiped second, while Martinez stole home. Holmdel was only down by a score of 2-1. Esposito wound up stranded at second after Svenson struck out Brody and designated player Danielle Critelli to end the inning.
“They’re a good team,” said Svenson of Holmdel. “They swing [their bats well] and gave me a good challenge.”
The score remained the same until the top of the seventh when Raritan added an insurance run. Helmstetter led off the frame with an infield single. She would be retired at second on a fielder’s choice hit by Mancuso. Mancuso, in mean time, scored on a wild pitch to make it a 3-1 game.
Svenson pitched a complete game two-hitter to improve her and her team’s record to 8-7. She struck out eight and walked two. Svenson hopes the win can propel her team to a berth in the upcoming Shore Conference and NJSIAA playoffs.
“We’ve got Marlboro and Barnegat coming up [before the cut-off date next week for the playoffs],” said Svenson. “They’ve been playing well of late. We’ve got a challenge, but we can definitely win.”
Brody, despite being tagged with the loss, pitched well in her own right. She gave up only three runs on three hits. Brody fanned three and walked three.
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