HAMILTON – Steinert’s softball team got the job done, but Lawrence made it a tougher job than most people thought it would be. The 3rd-seeded Spartans needed a five-run fifth inning to pull away from the spunky, 14th-seeded Cardinals in Wednesday’s NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III first-round game. In the regular-season meeting between the teams Steinert (19-5) took a 17-0, four-inning victory, and the Cardinals had not provided a competitive game for the Spartans in nearly 10 years.
But with two outs in the fourth, freshman pinch-hitter Bailey Schafer slammed an RBI single to tie the game at 2-2. Steinert reclaimed the lead on Brooke DeWitt’s RBI single in the fourth, then put it away in the fifth. But the Cardinals made sure to show they were there.
“I’m really proud of my team,” Lawrence coach Dana Williams said. “One of our goals was to go seven innings. Everything today was about small wins.
We had a beautiful catch in left field (by Erin Erdie to rob Mia Pope of extra bases), we got great pitching from both pitchers (Emma Dobkin, Paige Van Hise), we got some nice hits and we got robbed a couple times by Pope at shortstop.” Spartans’ coach Jenn Melker, whose team hosts 6th-seeded Matawan Tuesday, was not surprised that Lawrence was more formidable the second time around. “They played great,” Melker said.
“This whole season has been that way. You can’t underestimate any team. Everyone we’ve gone against has been playing very well this season.
.
