CRANFORD, NJ- For the first four innings of action, the Arthur L. Johnson High School Crusaders varsity softball team couldn’t quite solve Cranford High School senior starting pitcher Brenna Dolan, who kept Johnson off-balance on the mound, striking out four and allowing only three hits within that span with her team ahead 1-0, following an RBI double from junior Erin Schwerdtfeger in the bottom of the first inning.
“Early on, [Dolan] was pitching great, she pitched a good game,” Johnson head coach Chris Di Nucci said. “She was keeping us off-balance. We were putting the ball in play, but not hitting anything hard.”
For Johnson, senior starting pitcher Nicole Cassano shook off the early run and matched Dolan’s performance, keeping her team in the game when the Crusaders offense wasn’t exactly clicking. With her team trailing, she allowed only two more singles before Johnson tied the game in the top of the fifth inning.
At the plate, she gave her team the 2-1 lead with a solo home run that had enough to get out of the ballpark to center field.
“She had a great start today. For most of the year, she’s been stringing innings together for us in every game, win or lose,” Di Nucci said. “Today, she did that for us on the other side, sparking us in the sixth inning. In the circle, she did a good job of keeping us in the game, a one-run game and then a tie game and then we ultimately took over.”
With the conference on the line and coming up just short with a chance to clinch it on Friday, a 9-7 loss to Governor Livingston in 11 innings, the Crusaders slowly began to break through in the later stages of the game, scoring seven unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth innings to defeat the Cougars 7-2 Monday night at Adams Field in Cranford.
With the win, the Johnson Crusaders win the 2018 Union County Conference Watchung Division Championship, the second one for the program in the past three seasons.
Trailing 1-0, Johnson came to the plate in the top of the fifth inning, needing a baserunner to get something going. Sophomore Megan Tinger worked a walk and sophomore courtesy runner Lia D’Angelo went to second base following a sacrifice bunt from junior Hannah Brogan.
Junior Bailey Rosenmeier stepped to the plate, looking for a hit in a clutch position. On the first pitch she saw, she hit one up the middle for a single, scoring D’Angelo to tie the game at 1-1. Rosenmeier, the team’s first baseman looked for the right pitch to connect and come through when her team needed the big hit.
“It felt good. I came up knowing I need to help my team win in any way possible because the conference was on the line,” Rosenmeier said. “We wanted to be the sole winners, the conference champs. I did what I had to do to help my team in any way.”
Cassano worked into and out of trouble in the bottom half of the inning. A single and an error with one out had Cranford in business, but Cassano got an infield fly and a flyout to center field to get out of the jam and get the game to the top of the sixth inning.
Overall, Cassano struck out eight batters, issued one walk and scattered seven hits, along with two earned runs, picking up her ninth win of the season. Not only did she dazzle on the mound that evening, she ignited the rally that came in that inning.
With one out and no one on, Cassano sent a 1-1 pitch to center field, enough to leave the ballpark for a solo home run, her second of the season, giving Johnson their first lead at 2-1. The home run would only be the beginning of what was to come.
“I loved being able to get the girls going and knowing that they’ll come through,” Cassano said. “I think seeing at least one teammate get on base allowed for the others to feel more confidence and know that they can get the job done.”
Junior Victoria Zatko followed up the home run with a single to center field and senior Lauren Donah reached on an error. Megan Tinger’s infield single kept the inning going, loading the bases with one out. Brogan kept the rally going, smacking a double to the left-center field gap, scoring two to make it 4-1 Johnson. D’Angelo scored on a wild pitch to make it 5-1.
“We made some adjustments. We talked about some things as the game progressed and we put the ball in play and some good things happen,” Di Nucci said. “We had a couple of dings, we had a home run to get us going. Cassano had a solo shot and that sort of kickstarted the offense and we went from there.”
Senior Jen Tinger singled to shallow left field to score two more runs, making the game 7-1 Johnson and putting them in the driver’s seat. The Crusaders batted around their lineup, sending ten batters to the plate as they took the lead for good and went right through the final two innings to secure the win and the conference championship.
“I definitely do believe the sixth inning was our best,” Cassano said. “We were making contact earlier in the game but getting outs.”
“We all know when you hit the ball good things happen so when Nicole started off the inning with the home run to go ahead made us pumped even more and tacked on five more runs,” Jen Tinger said of the inning.
Overall, in the inning, Johnson got five hits to go along with the six runs.
“Sometimes, all it takes is a big hit to get the mojo going and get it moving,” Di Nucci said of his sixth inning. “It just seemed like that home run sparked us. There was one out in the inning and [Cassano] hits the solo shot with nobody on and all of a sudden, it turns into a six-run inning before we know it in a blink.”
Dolan launched a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning for Cranford.
Johnson clinched the conference championship with a 6-2 record, sweeping opponents Cranford and Elizabeth, while splitting the season series with Westfield and Governor Livingston.
The Johnson Crusaders (15-5) return home for their regular season finale against Bridgewater-Raritan HS Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
The Cranford Cougars (9-8) remain home to open the NJSIAA North Jersey, Section 2, Group 3 state tournament. They will host West Morris Central HS Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
