CEDAR GROVE, NJ- The Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity softball team has continued to have quality games at the plate, especially to respond to big innings from their opponents. As they stepped onto the field at the Cedar Grove Tournament to take on the Pope John High School (Sparta) Lions, they were going to need every bit of it after running into trouble in the bottom of the second inning.
After allowing three runs early on, with errors playing a role, the Crusaders scored five runs in the top of the third inning to take the lead for good and went on to defeat the Lions 7-4 Saturday morning at Panther Park Field.
After Johnson senior starting pitcher Nicole Cassano got the first out of the bottom of the second inning with a strikeout, they ran into trouble with miscues on the defensive side. The Pope John High School (Sparta) Lions got the next runners on with back-to-back errors and a walk to load the bases, all with one out.
Pope John freshman Emma Fernstrom took a 2-0 pitch from Cassano and drove it deep near the left field line, clearing the bases and giving the Lions a 3-0 lead. Johnson got the final out and went into the third inning needing a spark to respond to the big hit from Fernstrom.
After allowing the go-ahead runs, the Crusaders got the last out and focused their mindset towards getting it back, one batter at a time.
Senior Sydney Tropeano, who’s been hitting in the nine-spot of the lineup, beat out a groundball to lead off the inning. Then, two batters later, senior Mackenzie Purcell worked a walk and Cassano singled and before they knew it, Johnson had the bases loaded with one out in the inning.
Next up, Johnson junior Victoria Zatko stepped up to the plate, looking to add to an impressive start to her junior season. She smacked a single to drive home Tropeano to cut the deficit to 3-1. Zatko, who’s seen varsity time as far back as her freshman season, came into Saturday’s action as the team’s leading hitter, sporting a .591 batting average (13-for-22) with eight RBIs and three home runs.
She spoke about how she’s been able to add to her hot start to the 2018 season, emphasizing her teammates as a factor before her own numbers on the season.
“I came in [the 2018 season] strong and having my team’s back is all that matters at this moment,” Zatko said. “I knew at that moment when the bases were loaded [with one out], I knew I needed to knock in a run because we were losing, so I did what I had to do.”
Senior Lauren Donah stepped up to the plate with one run in and the bases loaded again, looking for a spark to not only get the game back on track, but try and improve her in the batter’s box within the first month of the season. She drove an 0-2 pitch to left field, scoring Purcell and Zatko to tie the game at 3-3.
Donah also missed two games last week after being hit in the forearm by a pitch in the team’s home opener against Cranford on April 12.
“It feels really good to be back after my injury,” Donah said. “It’s an amazing feeling getting back out there and helping my team out.”
With two outs now in the inning, junior Hannah Brogan stepped in, looking to improve on her .294 batting average and her season and she gave exactly what her team needed after rallying to tie what looked to be a game ready to get out of control. She sent the first pitch she saw deep into the outfield to give Johnson their first lead of the day at 5-3.
Hannah, who sports the #9 jersey worn by her older sister, Shannon (currently playing Division II softball at Moravian College), spoke about her feelings after being in the middle of the huge rally from a 3-0 deficit.
“I was excited to be in a spot to put my team ahead. Sometimes hitting can be contagious,” Brogan said. “I knew I needed to get a good pitch and put the ball in play. It felt great to be able to help my team and keep the rally going.”
In total, Johnson sent five straight batters to the plate after the second out of the inning was recorded, which was where Johnson took over the game.
“It’s always nice to bounce back after you give up a few runs in the bottom half of one inning and come back in the top half of the inning and put runs back on the board,” Johnson head coach Chris Di Nucci said.
In similar situations, Johnson trailed their home opener against Cranford and rallied late, along with an incredible eight-run bottom of the sixth inning over Immaculata the next day, with the adversity and deficit factors needed to be overcome if they wanted a chance to fight for a win.
The Crusaders got another run in the top of the fourth inning, with Tropeano coming in on an error to make the sore 6-3 Johnson. Zatko drove home a run on a fourth-inning groundout to give her team a 7-3 lead.
Cassano silenced the Pope John lineup, allowing only five hits and one more run after allowing the second-inning, bases-clearing double.
Pope John would not go away quietly and continued to make the game outlook interesting. Senior Jess Whittman led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a triple. She would score on a groundout from Pope John freshman starting pitcher Maddie Sacchiero to cut the lead to 7-4.
The Lions would get the potential tying run to the plate, but Cassano got out of the inning, as Johnson went through the seventh inning to capture another win. Di Nucci and his assistant coaches praised the players for sticking through the face of adversity to get a win.
“Our girls deal with adversity really well. We talk about it all the time,” Di Nucci said. “It’s nice to see that even when we’re making outs, we’re making hard line drives or loud outs, which is what you want to do.”
Click here for coverage of Matchup #2: DePaul Spartans vs. Johnson Crusaders
