Sports
Softball: Kufta, Bats Lead Hopatcong at Home
Chiefs down Millburn via mercy rule to stay perfect.
Hopatcong can't be stopped. Or, at least, not yet. After a pair of close victories, the Chiefs blitzed past Millburn, 10-0, in six innings in Monday's home-opener. Undefeated Hopatcong (3-0) lived off a steady hitting barrage while starting pitcher Samantha Kufta's fastballs cemented the shutout.
R H E Millburn 0 0 0 0 0
0
X 0
3
0
Hopatcong 0 4
0
2
0 4
X 10
12 0
IN SHORT
This one was all Hopatcong, all the time. A scoreless first led to a four-run second inning, highlighted by Kufta's two-run single. The freshman finished 4-for-4—all singles—while manning the No. 3 spot. And after a two-run fourth, the Chiefs closed out Millburn with four runs in the final frame, which left fielder Angelica Torres capped with a two-run base knock. Head coach Gary Widdos was all grins after the game as Hopatcong won a game it expected to own.
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CHIEF OF THE GAME
Kufta—She went 4-for-4 with four singles, three RBI and a run scored. On the mound, Kufta (1-0) struck out nine Millburn batters while allowing no runs, three hits and a pair of walks. It was her first varsity start on the rubber.
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OTHER KEY PERFORMANCES
Pamela Hon—The sophomore second baseman was 3-for-4 with three singles and two runs scored.
Skylar Post—The leadoff-hitting right fielder was 2 of 4 with a pair of singles and two runs scored.
Courtney Stone—The shortstop had two hits, a stolen base and a run scored.
THEY SAID IT
"All of my pitches were working. We were hitting a lot. We really pulled ahead as a team. It was a good day. We're excited. We're looking forward to a good season. Everything was working. I'm happy."—Kufta
"[Kufta] knows when to throw certain pitches, knows when to throw inside. She had a few changeups that worked really well, too. They got girls out."—Hon
"Things are definitely going to look up for this season. Having a rough couple past year and having all these freshmen come up and ... it really gives us an outlook on how it's going to be for future years and not just this year. We'll just see how it goes and hope for the best."—Senior Crystal Mastroeni
Up Next—At Lenape Valley at 4 p.m. Thursday at Lenape Valley Regional High School.
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