Henderson, Clifford Lead No. 10 Holmdel over No. 7 Raritan 6-2

HAZLET — It was an early season test between two top ten teams who were the preseason favorites to be on top of the Colonial Division. On a cold and wet afternoon, No. 10 Holmdel traveled to No. 7 Raritan and gained a leg up in the division race with a 6-2 victory. 

After scoring a run on a wild pitch in the top of the 1st inning, Holmdel scored four runs in the 3rd inning to give their ace, Julia Henderson, some breathing room. 

Freshman Amanda Tucillo started the inning off with a single followed by a double from Henderson. Both players scored when a ground ball by Emma Vanario was misplayed by Raritan first baseman Hope Frederick. 

“You always want to take advantage of every opportunity you are given in a softball game,” Holmdel head coach Nora Bosmans said. “Every inch matters, every out matters. What we tell the team is singles win games. It doesn’t take one swing, it does not take one strike. It takes single after single to produce those runs.”

Junior Natalie Clifford followed that with a line drive single to center to score Vanario. Clifford would later score on a sacrifice fly from Delaney Savage to give Holmdel a 5-0 lead. 

Henderson, who finished last season with a 1.58 ERA and 160 strikeouts, was in control all game. She retired 15 out of 16 batters between the 2nd inning to the 6th inning and finished with nine strikeouts. 

“Julia [Henderson] is one of the toughest individuals I have ever met,” Bosmans said. “She is a workhorse and works day in and day out. She perfects her craft so when she gets comfortable and gets into a groove, she gets stronger and more confident as the game goes on.”

Henderson and Raritan starter Katelyn Ruta had to battle the conditions in the early innings. Once the ball hit any part of the grass it became get wet and made both pitchers uncomfortable with the grip. Holmdel’s first run came on a wild pitch in the 1st inning, which was one of several thrown by Ruta. 

“Being able to feel comfortable in your pitches and just know no matter what the circumstance is I can get this out if I need to,” Henderson said. “Every time I go out there I clean up the mound and I make it flat and get rid of all the bumps because I know that’s what I need to do to perform the best.”

Raritan was able to ruin the shutout in the bottom of the 6th inning when Holly Bellofatto doubled in Madison Regiec. Bellofatto was the only Raritan player to finish with two hits in the game. 

Holmdel responded in the top of the 7th with a homerun by Clifford. Clifford, who moved from the outfield last season to be Henderson’s catcher this season, hit a blast to left-center to put the Hornets up 6-1. 

“We put in a lot of hard work at practice on and off the field,” Clifford said. “We practice facing adversity and being down in a game and we can never put our heads down and we always need to keep our heads up.”

Holmdel starts the season 2-0 with both wins coming in the Colonial Division. They deleted Wall 14-2 on Tuesday. Last season they went 4-5 in their division and lost both games to Raritan, who finished 8-2 in the division. 

“It is very important against a high-quality team like Raritan that we had to play a full seven innings,” Bosmans said.  “We couldn’t play five, we couldn’t play five and a half, we had to play the full seven innings to come out on top.”