Cranford Defeats Union Catholic in Softball

Union Catholic deserves plenty of credit. They hung tough the first two innings, but a patient Cranford team knew they needed just one hit to break the game open.

That hit came off the bat of shortstop Nicole Ravetier, whose three-run double in the third inning was all the Lady Cougars needed to defeat the Lady Vikings 6-0 at Adams Avenue field in Cranford.

Senior righthander Kelly Hardman had another sensational game, striking out a season-high 14 batters while giving up two hits and walking two. The top pitcher in the county improved her record to 8-1.

“Kelly pitched well, exceptionally well,” said Cranford head coach Bob Bruno. “She got some good innings in. Other than that, I thought we were a little lethargic out in the field. Thankfully Nicole got that key hit with the bases loaded, and then we managed to score another three. The kids talked about it in the end in our huddle that they were a little flat today.”

The victory keeps the Cougars tied for the conference lead, and improves their overall record to 14-2. Union Catholic falls to 10-4.

The Cougars added three runs in the fourth inning on a double by designated hitter Kathleen French and a base hit by catcher Melissa Moreno. Katie Bradford and Julie Siragusa had base hits in the eight-hit attack. Hardman chipped in with a pair of singles and two runs scored.

“It was a great game today, I thought,” said Cranford’s Ravetier. “We beat this team before. We were confident today coming out. We’ve been hitting really well. It was nice to come out and play a good game. We definitely could have hit more. I don’t think we had as many hits as the last time we played them, but we came out and made the plays and Kelly pitched a great game.”

“I’m doing really well in hitting, that’s what I’m here to do as the DH,” said French. “I think I’m doing pretty well with it. I’m just doing my job. Our team is really doing well so far, we’ve been hitting a lot more. I really appreciate it because everyone as a team is working together as we get ready for the counties.”

Union Catholic’s two hits were credited to Ashley Straile and Toniann Beckman, both doubles.

“Considering we gave up a couple of hits in the third inning, the lucky break with the hit to right centerfield, sometimes it goes the other way, I think we hung our heads down a little bit,” said Union Catholic assistant coach Nancy Peralta. “After that, I think we came back. It was a strong showing overall.”

Freshman hurler Colleen Dowd was impressive, shutting the Lady Cougars out for five innings. Dowd knows she can’t beat the experience of facing the number-one team in the county, no matter the outcome.

“I think we did well as a team today,” noted Dowd. ”It will help us in our county tournament. It’s great. It’s giving me more experience, it helps me with the tougher games. This is definitely going to help me out in counties facing really good teams.”
Facing the top-seeded Cougars before the start of the county tournament was a good test for UC.

“It shows that we’re able to hang in there,” said Peralta. “It wasn’t a blowout by any means. We hung in there. Take that one inning away, maybe the ball goes a little different, and it’s a whole different ball game. So we feel good going into Saturday. We’re going to play our best against Governor Livingston (Friday) and see what happens from there.

Union Catholic will be in action versus Westfield in the quarterfinal round of the Union County Tournament on Saturday.

“We’re going to go with our freshman pitcher who we’ve been going with all year,” said Peralta. “She’s been pretty solid for us. We’re playing at home. She feels comfortable there. We just hope to come out strong, stay cool, and play smart.”

Cranford will play host to Kent Place on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at Adams Avenue field.