Middletown North's Riley Kernan Does It All As Lions Win Shore Conference Tournament

Photo’s above: The 2015 SCT champions pose for team photo, team mobs Kernan after game-winning hit

WALL TOWNSHIP – When Middletown North’s Riley Kernan takes the mound you see a seasoned veteran that oozes a confidence that her teammates feed off of and a demeanor of someone who’s been there and done that; except Kernan is only a sophomore.

She displayed all of that and more Thursday, as the rising star led the Middletown North to its first Shore Conference Tournament title since 1974 - some 25-plus years before she was even born.

“I said to the coaching staff yesterday ‘this girl (Kernan) is going to pitch the game of her life tomorrow,’” Middletown North first-year head coach Marc Rosner said. “Even though she’s only a 16 year-old sophomore and sometimes you look at her out there and she’s only a kid; she doesn’t pitch like one. She pitches like she’s been out there a long time and she’s one our best hitter as well; she was great today.”

All Kernan did in her first SCT final start was pitch an eight-inning, two-hit shutout and drive in the winning run in the bottom of the eighth to help the No.9 seeded Lions (23-6) defeat No.3 seeded and crosstown rival Middletown South 1-0 Thursday at Wall Township High School.

The sophomore right-hander struck out six, walked four and hit a batter in picking up her 20th win of the season against four losses. Only one of her two hits allowed left the infield and she had four 1-2-3 innings to her credit.

The win snapped Middletown South’s 15-game winning streak, which included a 2-1 extra-inning win on Wednesday against Delsea to reach the NJSIAA Group III final Friday. The game was also the rubber match between the two schools with the Lions taking the series 2-1 along with some well-deserved bragging rights.

“The whole game was very emotional and hard to keep your head in the game knowing that you know every single girl over there,” Kernan said. “They’re an awesome team but we played great, we worked so hard for this and I’m so proud of everyone.”

It wasn’t easy for Kernan as the Lions left eight runners on base, including leaving four on base in scoring position until they were able to break through on the Eagles (27-5) in the bottom of the eighth.

In the second, third innings and fifth innings the Lions had runners on first and second with either no outs or one out and in the fifth they loaded the bases with two outs, They also led off the seventh with a double which was erased on a miscue.

“We made contact, but we were hitting off the end of the bat and just hitting ground balls,” Rosner said. “She was hitting the zone well and had some movement on her ball.”

We had a lot of runners on and we just couldn’t get them through,” Kernan said. “It was frustrating but we finally broke through and it was a great feeling.”

In the eighth, junior first baseman Christine Gebhardt led off the inning dropping a single just over the head of the second baseman and moved to second on Kayla Gallo’s low line-drive fielder’s choice that Eagles pitcher Tiffani Lambert snagged to make the play at first.

Now, with a runner in scoring position and Kernan coming to the plate, the stage was set for her to be the hero and go down in Middletown North folklore as single-handedly beating the Eagles in the SCT final - she didn’t disappoint. Kernan drove the first pitch she saw up the middle for an RBI single scoring Gebhardt with the winning run.

“I’ve been working so hard hitting and pitching and a lot of people say pitchers shouldn’t hit,” Kernan said. “But I’m one to say that all pitchers should get a chance to hit and I love the fact that I got to show that today.”

The Lions path to the SCT final was a difficult one that initially left them feeling shunned at their No.9 seed and missing out on a bye. However, they put that behind them; easily beating No. 24 seeded Mater Dei 10-0 before downing a tough Toms River North team seeded No.8. That set up a quarterfinal game with an undefeated Saint John Vianney team - ranked No.2 in the state – and a team they had lost to twice already this season.

In the biggest game of her life up to that point, Kernan shut down a SJV team that led the Shore Conference in just about every offensive category there is. She tossed a complete-game 2-0 shutout, allowing only six hits and striking out six to reach the semifinals against No.4 seeded Donovan Catholic – ranked 19th in the state.

That game turned out to be a slugfest, but Kernan held on to finish the game and got the win as the Lions advanced to the finals.

“This run has just been unbelievable, it’s all credit to the girls and their hard work,” Rosner said. “It feels great to make history today, this is also something we have been talking about, when they walk into gym 20 years from now, they are going to remember that 2015 Middletown North softball team. “

Kernan went 2-for-4 with two singles and the game winning RBI and Gebhardt finished 1-for-4 with a run scored. Sophomore left fielder Liz Dorsa has two singles in three at bats while junior centerfielder Payleigh Behan was a perfect 3-for-3 with a double. Lone senior starter and team leader Nikki Alfano had two walks and a single but was robbed of a potential game-ending extra-base hit in the seventh on a great running catch in deep centerfield.

Follow @getmready