Rusty Raiders Rally Past Watchung Hills

Sophomore left fielder Jacki Schwenkert singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning Thursday and came around to score on a wild pitch, as the Raiders shook off Watchung Hills’ game-tying rally in the top of the inning to score a 4-3 victory at Hillsborough High School.

IN SHORT 

The Raiders were not deterred by the fact they hadn’t played in nine days, nor did they lose focus after two questionable umpiring calls cost them runs, as Hillsborough rallied for its ninth victory.

Jacki Schwenkert reached on an infield single to start the bottom of the seventh inning of a tie game and went to second on an infield hit by Lauren Panek. After Alison Shimko sacrificed a bunt to advance the runners to second and third, Schwenkert dashed home with the winning run a wild pitch, as Hillsborough improved to 9-2 and 7-1 in the Delaware Division.

Pitcher Brittany Ksiezopolski not only earned the victory from the circle, but the senior also provided the offensive highlight with a long home run to right-center field during the third inning.

RAIDER OF THE GAME

Brittany Ksiezopolski – After being robbed of an extra-base hit on a fine sliding catch by Watchung Hills right fielder Brianna Paltan in the second inning, Ksiezopolski homered in the third to give the Raiders a 3-1 lead. The right-hander also improved to 9-2, allowing three runs on just six hits, walking none and striking out six.

OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES

Alexis Pezza  – The sophomore shortstop drove in a run and recorded two hits – getting robbed of a third on a great defensive play by Watchung Hills center fielder Jamie Schoenbach in the sixth inning.

Emma Hornich  – The first baseman went 2-for-3 and scored Hillsborough’s first run on a second-inning error.

Jacki Schwankert – The left fielder’s infield single to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning sparked the Raiders’ game-winning rally, and the sophomore scored the winning run.

THEY SAID IT

“Good teams find a way to win. We obviously weren’t sharp and we made too many mistakes everywhere. We didn’t make adjustments at the plate, we had a lot of runners in scoring position, and we were obviously rusty. And Brittany (Ksiezopolski) is too strong, she needs to throw, and that affected her today. It’s a good, old-fashioned gut-check victory.”—Hillsborough coach Cheryl Iaione, whose team hasn’t played since April 26, on the Raiders’ less-than-perfect performance Thursday.

UP NEXT – at Phillipsburg, Friday at 3:45 p.m.