Donovan Catholic Explodes for 10 Runs in Fifth to Defeat Marlboro in SCT Semifinal

TOMS RIVER — Patience is a virtue, and it is something every championship team must possess. No. 2 Donovan Catholic showed exactly that as it rallied from behind for the second straight game in the Shore Conference Tournament, defeating No. 3 Marlboro, 13-3, setting up the game of the year between the second-ranked Griffins and top-ranked St. John Vianney.

Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning, the Griffins exploded offensively, sending 15 batters to the plate and scoring 10 runs to take a commanding 12-3 lead. Donovan eventually ended the game in the sixth inning via the 10-run rule.

“We saw her [Gaudio] last week and knew she was going to pitch and we wanted to stay disciplined,” Donovan Catholic head coach Debbie Schwartz said. “We were very disciplined in the first inning and scored two runs, but then we lost ourselves. We got it back together and had some nice hits, some timely runs and made things happen.”

Schwartz pushed all the right buttons during the decisive fifth inning, and her players responded. Senior Amelia Wescott and junior Molly Hoops each delivered key pinch-hit RBIs. Wescott drove in a run to make it 5-3, while Hoops followed with a two-run hit to extend the lead to 7-3.

“Everybody in that dugout whether it’s a pinch running or hitter they produced,” Schwartz said. “Molly [Hoops] and Westcott have gotten chances and produced in the role that they’re in. Everybody in the dugout is ready to go.”

Freshman Kourtney Murphy also came through in key moments for the Griffins. In the first inning, she singled to center field to score pinch runner Sofi Zydzik and give Donovan a 2-0 lead. Later, in the fifth inning, Murphy delivered again with a single to left field that scored Isabella Cino and put Donovan back in front, 4-3.

“I knew I had to do whatever I needed to help my team,” Murphy said. “I had to hit the ball hard and find the gaps to try to score the runs and get those RBI’s to help my team win. I came in looking for my pitch. The first at-bat I was 0-2 so I knew I had to just find it and hit the ball hard.”

The 10-run rally began when senior Caroline Kopp was hit by a pitch on a 2-2 count. She later scored on a double by Cino to tie the game at 3-3. Kopp finished 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs, including the game-ending RBI double in the sixth inning.

“I was trying to focus to get the ball out there to score my teammates in front of me,’ Kopp said. “I saw the ball and hit it. I knew where they were both throwing so I was just trying to avoid certain things and seeing a certain pitch and taking it.”

Marlboro mounted its rally in the top of the third inning, sending seven batters to the plate and scoring three runs with two outs. Freshman Savannah Joy sparked the inning with a single to center field before eventually scoring on a ground ball by junior Alyssa Abadiotokis.

Senior Emily Gaudio then lined a single into the right-center field gap, driving in junior Isabella Wuelfing and Abadiotokis to give the Mustangs a 3-2 lead. Donovan’s junior pitcher Gylian Hixenbaugh escaped further damage by getting junior Ashlee Chen to pop out to right field to end the inning.

“I have been in these situations before,” Hixenbaugh said. “Coach Deb really set me up in my freshmen year. She would put me in when things got rough and I would just shut it down and I knew that my defense would have my back and we would come up with the runs and respond right back.”

Marlboro threatened to start another two-out rally in the fifth inning, but Hixenbaugh recorded one of her eight strikeouts to strand two runners on base.

“The one thing about Hixenbaugh is her mentality is unbelievable,” Schwartz said. “She stays focused and calm in a storm. That is what is so unique about a pitcher. She did a great job today.”

After Donovan’s lengthy inning at the plate, Hixenbaugh showed no signs of slowing down in the circle. Although she issued a lead-off walk in the sixth inning, she retired the next batter on a pop out before striking out the final two hitters of the game.

“Once I get a lead I am locked in,” Hixenbaugh said. “You might have seen me going behind the dugout and doing snaps to keep warm. I love how my teammates are always surrounding me and I love when there is joy in the dugout during a big inning and that is what keeps me going.”

The Griffins remained focused throughout the game, determined not to repeat last season’s heartbreak against Marlboro. Donovan remembered last year’s SCT quarterfinal loss, when the Griffins surrendered five runs in the top of the 10th inning in a 9-7 defeat.

“Don’t get cocky or anything,” said Kopp about the pregame talk from Coach Schwartz. “We lost last year so we could not count them [Marlboro] out. We had to stay focused to win this game.”

The Shore Conference Tournament championship game will feature the two teams that have occupied the No. 1 and No. 2 rankings throughout the entirety of the season. The last time Donovan Catholic and St. John Vianney met for the SCT title at Count Basie Park in Red Bank was in 2024, when SJV edged Donovan, 10-9, in a nine-inning thriller.

“We have a lot of respect for Madison [McDougall],” Schwartz said. “We know she is a good pitcher, but we are prepared. We played a very tough schedule to be prepared for this time of the season.”