Marlboro Defeats Freehold Boro 11-3

The Marlboro High School (6-14) girls softball team used big fourth, fifth and sixth innings to defeat Freehold Boro (5-17) Thursday in both team’s season finales.

Afterward, Freehold head coach Lindsay Fuchs spoke of how she hopes this season is a lesson for the returning players as they go forward.

“We need to work harder,” Fuchs said. “We need to be better, faster and stronger. Come out more hungry next year. Beginning of the season they wanted it. But we lost the drive. We lost it somewhere along the way.”

This game was 1-1 when Marlboro came to bat in the top of the fourth inning. It all changed shortly after, however. Freehold starter Emma Rivera walked second baseman Jaymee Fried and first baseman Brooke Kaminski; catcher Rachael Bleier singled. Fried would score on a suicide squeeze bunt from left fielder Chelsea Lupo. Bleier scored on a wild pitch, and then a single from right fielder Kristen O’Keefe scored the other runs. By the time it was all over it was 5-1 Mustangs.

In the top of the fifth, centerfielder Samantha Manochio got hit by a pitch by Freehold pitcher Erica Sosa. In addition, Fried reached on an error, third baseman Victoria Hayden walked and Kaminski reached on a fielder’s choice that scored Manochio. Lupo then reached on a fielder's choice of her own that would score Fried and Hayden. After the inning was over it was 8-1 Marlboro.

The Colonials got two runs back in the bottom of the fifth. It started with a leadoff homerun from shortstop Gabrielle Romanowski off of Marlboro starter Emily Kofman. First baseman Elizabeth White then got hit by a pitch, left fielder Dana Hansen singled, and third baseman Emma Trenchard singled. White scored on an error by O’Keefe. After five, it was 8-3 Marlboro.

In the top of the sixth, Marlboro finished off the scoring with three consecutive singles that eventually produced three runs, including timely hitting from Manochio and Fried. According to Marlboro head coach Nick Scalzo, this is exactly the game they needed to head into the summer season.

“It was a big victory for us,” Scalzo said. “We haven’t had too many this year, and to finish the last game of the season – a lot of young kids came out there, and we did what we had to do. [It’s a] very good win for us moving forward. We’re only losing three seniors, [and we’re] rolling into our summer league in about three weeks, so we have our whole team back.”

Fuchs wants Freehold to be on a mission when next season comes around.

“I just told them, I want you all to come back stronger and better and have more heart.”