Middletown North Outlasts Donovan Catholic in SCT Slugfest

Photo above: Lions pitcher Riley Kirnan hung tough to pick up her 19th win of the season.

WALL TOWNSHIP – Maybe now Middletown North will finally get recognized as one of the elite teams in the Shore Conference after they held on to defeat Donovan Catholic 15-14 in a Shore Conference Tournament semifinal game Saturday at Wall Township High School.

The fourth-seeded Griffins (21-5) came into the game ranked 19th in the latest NJ.Com Top 20 and No.2 in the Shore Conference while the ninth-seeded Lions have been flying under the radar all season long without being acknowledged as a team worthy of being ranked.

Even after they handed previously undefeated Saint John Vianney (25-2) – ranked No.2 in the state and No.1 in the Shore Conference - their first loss of the season last Saturday in the SCT quarterfinals it was dismissed by most of the softball media as an aberration rather than one very good team beating another very good team. Since losing to SJV back on April 29, the Lions have won 14-of-16 games they’ve played.

“I definitely feel like we’ve been overlooked this year,” Middletown North first-year head coach Marc Rosner said. “For some reason we only got a nine seed in this tournament and we have 22 wins this season. We’ve got a lot to prove, not just to ourselves but to everyone.”

The Lions (22-6) now advance into Wednesday’s SCT final with not only the chance to place another feather in their cap but to beat cross-town rival Middletown South in the process. Middletown North is looking to win the school’s first SCT title since 1974, but accomplishing that against the Eagles won’t be easy.

Middletown South (26-4) – seeded No.3 in the SCT - has been ranked in the Shore Conference top 10 most the year and have won 14 games in a row since losing to, coincidently, Middletown North back on April 30.

On Thursday they won the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III championship defeating Steinert, who had knocked the Lions out of contention just two days prior in the quarterfinals, thus eliminating what would’ve been the “War at the Shore” round one had the Lions beat Steinert.

“We couldn’t ask for a better final playing Middletown South,” Rosner said. “When it comes to major sports we’re always the school that comes second in people’s minds.”

In Saturday’s semifinal game, the Lions held a 6-4 lead heading into the top of the fifth and broke the game open scoring six runs in the top of the inning to seemingly put the game away. With the score now 12-4 the Griffins avoided a mercy rule exit scoring three in the bottom half of the inning to make it 12-7 after five innings of play.

The Lions then went out in order in the top of the sixth before Donovan Catholic inched a little closer with two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull to within 12-9 after six.

Middletown North added three more runs in the top of the seventh that made it 15-9 and it looked like that was the final nail in the coffin, but that’s when things got interesting.

With one out and runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh shortstop Kelcy McGeehan lined an RBI single with the runners advancing to second and third on the throw home. Now with the meat of the order due up, catcher Mackenzie Bakker lined a single through the 5-6 hole scoring both runners and pull to within 15-12.

Pitcher Rebecca Drake followed with a single putting runner s at first and second with the potential winning run coming to the plate. Clean-up hitter Amanda MacBurnie then lined an RBI single to center to make it 15-13.

Number five hitter Alexa Pagano flied out to deep left field for the second out of the inning but not before Nicole Davis brought the Griffins to within one, 15-14, with a RBI single up the middle.

After a brief conference on the mound with Rosner, Lion starting pitcher Riely Kernan (19-4) got the pitches she needed, striking out Abner and snaring Alyssa Herscy’s bunt attempt on the fly to end the game. Kernan also helped her cause with an RBI single in the six-run fifth inning.

“It was a long game,” Kernan said afterwards. “I had to keep my head in the game and it wasn’t easy. We’re a great hitting team and we hit the ball hard today. I’ve been able to rely on my offense all season long. The whole team is extremely excited to play Middletown South; that’s always my favorite game.”

The two teams combined to score an epic 29 runs on 35 hits. The Lions banged out a season-high 21 hits to back their 15 runs with seven doubles and a triple.

Sophomore right fielder Kayla Gallo had four hits including a two-run single in the fifth and a RBI double in the seventh. Sophomore third baseman Alyssa Vetrano also had four hits with RBI singles in the sixth and seventh and a double in the fifth.

“We’re a young team but a great team,” Gallo said. “We’re all ecstatic to be playing South, they’ve been our rival forever.”

Sophomore left fielder Liz Dorsa and junior first baseman Christine Gebhardt each had three hits including a double and two RBI’s. Gebhardt also scored three runs to help the cause.

Middletown North’s lone-starting senior, Niki Alfano, led off the game with a triple down the first base line and scored the game’s first run on Gebhardt’s RBI single. She also had a double, single and RBI and was a homer short of the hitting for the cycle. The leadoff batter and team leader was injured and taken out of the game as a precaution after being hit in the head with the ball on a play at second, but according to Rosner, she’s expected to play on Wednesday.

“Nickki Alfano is our only senior and she’s our leader on and off the field,” Rosner said. “She’s been doing everything since conditioning in December, getting the girls in the weight room, getting the girls together. She’s our vocal leader as well as leading on the playing field and has done a great job.”

Junior centerfielder Payleigh Behan and freshman second baseman Milena Wilton added two RBI’s each with Wilson getting a big two-run double in North’s three-run second inning.

“This team since December has wanted to win a championship,” Rosner said. “We’ve been saying it since day one that if we play the way we’re supposed to play, play for each other, play focused and we make the plays, hit and we do what we’re supposed to do, we can play and compete with anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

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