Wait is Over: RBC wins first SCT Title since 2010

 

Red Bank – The wait is over. After 15 years, Red Bank Catholic is back on top of the softball world in the Shore Conference with a 9-1 win over Colts Neck in the Shore Conference Tournament final. 

 

Championships can be won and lost on the pitching mound. One common factor all the final four teams had was a stud pitcher on the mound and RBC has one of the best. Notre Dame commit Lily Hagan was dominant in the Caseys’ tournament run.

 

In the three games Hagan pitched, she allowed only one run, seven hits and struck out 24 batters. Five of those seven hits came against Colts Neck in the championship game. In the semifinal round against the No. 2 seed St. John Vianney, Hagan allowed just one hit which was a big turnaround from her last meeting against SJV when she gave up nine hits. 

“You have to have a short memory,” RBC head coach Tony Flego said. “You cannot let things bother you for any length of time because you have to get right back out there. They (SJV) played great in that last game and we didn’t, but I think that might have helped us a little bit. It got us ready for today and the rest of the tournament. Lily did a great job especially Saturday and today and for her to come out after Saturday’s game and pitch like that tonight is a testament to her”

 

After giving up three hits and one run in the top of the 1st inning, Hagan settled down and pitched four 1-2-3 innings and had five of her nine strikeouts in the last three innings of the game. She allowed just two hits in the third inning and a walk the rest of the way.

 

Colts Neck, who was the No. 5 seed in the SCT, was able to get a run on the board early, but left two runners on base in the top of the 1st. Junior Gabriella Bryce, who has been one of the hottest hitters in the SCT, hit a line-drive double to center field on the first pitch of the game. She then scored when freshman Jillian Heyser singled to right field. After a single by Ellie Mager, Julia Watkins bunted Heyser to third and Mager to second, but Hagan was able to strike out Gabriella Saveriano to get out of the jam.

The Caseys wasted no time tying the game up. University Of North Carolina commit Nicole Knox walked on four straight pitches and scored on a triple by freshman Mackenna Savage. Savage has made an impact throughout the SCT on both the mound and the plate. She was the hero at the plate in the semifinal round against SJV with a solo home run in the top of the 1st inning. That run ended up being the lone run of the game to send RBC to the finals.

 

“Nothing fazes her,” said Flego about Savage. “It is awesome to be a freshman like that, but I think she was able to improve and she has people to help her out and to grow and grow and grow. She has been from day one a pleasant surprise. Listen, I knew she was good, I did not know she was that good. She has proven she belongs here at this level.”

 

After Hagan pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the 2nd, the RBC bats scored four runs in the bottom of the inning. After Lana Rudolph was hit by a pitch to start the inning, Brianna Santangelo doubled to left field to score Rudolph. Colts Neck pitcher Angela Sasso was able to strike out the next two batters, but Knox doubled to center field to make it 3-1.  Sophomore Grace Lombardi added two more runs when she singled to left field to score Knox and Savage, who reached on a walk. 

 

“After they scored in the first inning, we knew our bats would be there to pick us up,” said Knox who went 2-for-3 with two doubles, three runs scored and three RBIs.  “Mackenna is a big time player and big time players make big time plays. We could not do it without anyone on this team. This team is so cohesive.” 

 

RBC added two more runs in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Santangelo doubled for the second time of the game after Hagan drew a walk to start the inning. Sophia Lasater, who batted in the nine spot of the order, drove in two runs with a double to left field. 

 

“The whole line-up is dangerous,” Flego said. “There is nobody in the line-up who you can throw to and say it will be an easy out. That has been our ticket this year. The girls have stepped up the whole year.”

 

The Caseys scored the last two runs of the game in the bottom of the 5th inning to seal their first title since 2010, which was also the last time they played in the SCT final. Knox hit a shallow fly ball to left-center field to score Rudolph, who reached on a double, and Lasater, who walked. 

“He (Flego) said there has been over 700 times he has had these pregame huddles and he said this one is the most special,” Knox said. “Win or lose he could not be more proud of us for making it this far, but we were not just satisfied just being here. We did not get this far to get this far and we knew there was a job to get done.”