Hersch Pitches Jackson Memorial to their Second Ocean County Tournament Title in Three Seasons

Jackson Township – On Tuesday night fans got to see a pitching duel between two of Ocean County’s best in the Ocean County Tournament.  After 8.5  scoreless innings, Jackson Memorial scored the game’s lone run to win their second Ocean County title in three years.

 

After going hitless in her first three at-bats, Dominique Lopez tripled to left/center field to start the bottom of the 9th inning. On the very first pitch, Victoria Marconi hit a ground ball to pitcher Elianna Meola, who checked Lopez and threw to first base to get the first out. Lopez took off to home plate as soon Meola made the throw and scored when the throw from first baseman Kendall Falduto was slightly offline.

 

“I knew as a senior I had to step up and take that chance,” Lopez said. “I was 0-for-3 but they weren’t bad hits and I was so frustrated. I knew being the first batter in this last inning it was wraps. I knew I was getting on and I had no intention of stopping.”

 

Jackson Memorial’s Emily Hersch and Meola for Pinelands both were locked in on the strike zone and relied on excellent defense behind them. They combined to throw 8 1-2-3 innings, including five in a row from the bottom of the 5th to the bottom of the 7th. 

 

“She (Hersch) pitched amazing,” Jackson Memorial head coach Haydee Donza said. “She has been sharing her duties with Mia (Ingenito) and today we gave her the ball and we could not ask anything better out of her today.”

 

Hersch, who played through an injury last season, showed why she got the start by striking out eight batters and only allowing five hits over 9 innings. Hersch’s biggest pitch came in the top of the 8th inning when Pinelands had their best chance of scoring. Cassie Gould reached on a single to left field with two outs and then advanced to second when Hannah Theuret reached on an error. Both runners advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, but Hersch was able to field a hard hit ground ball by Kendall Falduto to end the inning. 

 

“Last year obviously was rough, but I worked hard and I feel good this season,” Hersch said. “We were confident going in and that’s what helped us. Our outfield played great and our infield was solid.”

 

The Jaguars had a chance to score in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Hersch hit an one-out single to center field. Courtesy runner Jaida Parikh advanced to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Tara Steppat. With two outs, Wildcats center fielder Jozelyn Peterson would make one of the best plays of the season to end the inning. Emma Sandoval singled to center and Peterson gunned down Parikh, who tried to score from second base, at home plate and Theuret applied the tag. 

With Jackson Memorial closing and merging with Jackson Liberty next season, this Jaguar team will close the school as champions. For the seniors, it will be their second Ocean County Title in the last three seasons. 

 

“It was all about pride and leaving it all out with it being our last year,” Donza said. “It was about leaving a legacy so we can take it over next year and become one Jackson.”

 

The Jaguars are playing their best softball at the right time. With the win, Jackson Memorial has won six out of their last seven games. As they begin the Shore Conference Tournament on Thursday,  their only loss in that span came to No. 1 Donovan Catholic. Before that run, the Jaguars lost four out of five games.

 

“Our season did not start off hot,” Lopez said. “We had a lot of freshmen come in on the team. The chemistry wasn’t there and we were still getting to know each other. As seniors too I feel like we have stepped into our leadership roles. We have respect for one and another. I feel if you do not have team chemistry, you are not going to win. Now look at us, we are beating teams we lost too in the beginning of the season.”