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BRIDGEWATER – The Bridgewater-Raritan High School softball team needed an injection of energy Thursday, a day after losing in nine innings at Delaware Valley and now playing Bernards for the second time in three days, looking somewhat flatter than it did during Tuesday’s decisive win.
Freshman pitcher Rachel Eng provided the spark and junior third baseman Briana Cacchio turned up the heat.
Looking very much like a deer in headlights, but showing the poise of a seasoned vet, the rookie right-hander came on to make her varsity debut in the sixth inning with her team down a run, and turned in a perfect frame. Cacchio then finally punched through a pair of runs with a two-out hit in the bottom of the frame and the Panthers claimed their second Skyland Conference Raritan Division victory over Bernards this week, 2-1 at North Bridge Street Field.
After threatening in the first and third, Bernards took the early lead, breaking through with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Krisztina Lekai slammed one off the pitching rubber for an infield hit leading off and went to second on a wild pitch. After a line out and a groundout, with Lakai crossing to third, sophomore Gracie Mongno delivered the run, rolling an RBI single into center field.
But Bridgewater-Raritan, which had been flat all day, especially at the plate, finally got the boost it was looking for.
With sophomore ace Brynn Hawley having pitched 19 innings in three days, including 12 against the same Bernards lineup, the scrappy Mountaineers put the pressure on, getting runners into scoring position in four of the first five innings. The second-year righty did a good job to work her way through most of those jams – helped by some airtight defense behind her – but Panthers coach Sandy Baranowski felt it was time for a different look and she went to the freshman hurler, who suddenly found herself making her first varsity appearance in the sixth inning with her team trailing in a tight game.
But what she lacked in stature, she certainly made up for in guile, retiring the side in order in the sixth and firing up her teammates.
“It was amazing,” Cacchio said. “Just the fact she’s so little and so nervous out there is amazing for her and we kind of fed off that.”
“She’s a good little pitcher,” Baranowski said. “She’s been starting for us on the JV, but this was a big spot. I almost didn’t pull the trigger, but sometimes you just have to trust your gut. With this new rule (seeing conference opponents twice in three days), they just saw Brynn Hawley for 12 innings in a span of two days, so we needed something a little different, and maybe that did provide the spark.”
More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County
More: Softball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preview package
Whether it was Eng’s effort or the fact Bridgewater-Raritan is too good of an offensive team to stay down for long, the Panthers finally went to work in the bottom of the sixth against Bernards ace Gabby Mongno, who had done a stellar job keeping the potent attack at bay, liming them to just a pair of hits to that point, doubles from Cai Mahovetz and Evelyn Fresco –
Amanda Ciser was hit by a pitch with one out, bringing up Angela Tremarco, who dropped a single into right field. The duo immediately executed a double steal, but the next hitter popped out and it looked like the Panthers would be stymied again.
But Cacchio came up looking for her first hit of the season. She worked the count to 2-2 and then unleashed a bullet toward the third-base bag that proved too hot to handle, getting through into left field and plating both runs.
“My (mindset) was just get the ball through the infield,” said Cacchio, who went 0-for-4 against Bernards opening day before walking three times at Delaware Valley on Wednesday. “There are two outs. It can’t be in the air.”
“She played the game of her life,” Baranowski said of her third baseman, who also turned in several sparkling plays on defense. “She’s up there looking for something she can handle and she’s confident. But she’s frustrated, too, and she took it out on the ball. It was absolutely hammered.”
Eng came back out for the seventh, starting the inning with her second strikeout, before getting a grounder to Cacchio, who made a nice play to gun the runner at first. Leadoff hitter Brooke Helpinstill then hit a smash toward the shortstop hole that Tremarco stopped with a dive, but Helpinstill beat the throw to first. Eng then induced a weak grounder to third to end it.
Eng earned the win, allowing just one hit and striking out two in two innings of relief of Hawley, who surrendered just a run on four hits, walking four and striking out two.
Gabby Mongno was stellar for Bernards, despite taking the hard luck loss, allowing just two late runs on four total hits, walking one and fanning five.
Despite the defeat, the game was a big step in the right direction for Bernards, especially at the plate. The Mountaineers lost seven starters to graduation, including six four-year starters, but coach Leslie O’Conner was pleased with the effort, although there’s still some cleaning up and learning to do.
“Our inexperience showed a little bit,” she said. “We were exposed in the areas we need to work on. We’re learning. We’re learning about being in tight situations and understanding how to handle those situations.
“Our hitting really improved. Our mental approach at the plate improved dramatically, just being aggressive, getting up there and bring scrappy and attacking the zone, and making pitchers throw a lot of pitches, and they did that today.”
BERNARDS (0-2) 000-100-0 – 1-5-1
BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN (2-1) 000-002-X – 2-4-0
WP: Eng (1-0) LP: Ga. Mongno (0-2)
2B: BR-Mahovetz, Fresco. SB: Ciser, Tremarco
Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Cacchio, Eng spark Bridgewater-Raritan over Bernards
Continue reading...
Freshman pitcher Rachel Eng provided the spark and junior third baseman Briana Cacchio turned up the heat.
Looking very much like a deer in headlights, but showing the poise of a seasoned vet, the rookie right-hander came on to make her varsity debut in the sixth inning with her team down a run, and turned in a perfect frame. Cacchio then finally punched through a pair of runs with a two-out hit in the bottom of the frame and the Panthers claimed their second Skyland Conference Raritan Division victory over Bernards this week, 2-1 at North Bridge Street Field.
After threatening in the first and third, Bernards took the early lead, breaking through with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Krisztina Lekai slammed one off the pitching rubber for an infield hit leading off and went to second on a wild pitch. After a line out and a groundout, with Lakai crossing to third, sophomore Gracie Mongno delivered the run, rolling an RBI single into center field.
But Bridgewater-Raritan, which had been flat all day, especially at the plate, finally got the boost it was looking for.
With sophomore ace Brynn Hawley having pitched 19 innings in three days, including 12 against the same Bernards lineup, the scrappy Mountaineers put the pressure on, getting runners into scoring position in four of the first five innings. The second-year righty did a good job to work her way through most of those jams – helped by some airtight defense behind her – but Panthers coach Sandy Baranowski felt it was time for a different look and she went to the freshman hurler, who suddenly found herself making her first varsity appearance in the sixth inning with her team trailing in a tight game.
But what she lacked in stature, she certainly made up for in guile, retiring the side in order in the sixth and firing up her teammates.
“It was amazing,” Cacchio said. “Just the fact she’s so little and so nervous out there is amazing for her and we kind of fed off that.”
“She’s a good little pitcher,” Baranowski said. “She’s been starting for us on the JV, but this was a big spot. I almost didn’t pull the trigger, but sometimes you just have to trust your gut. With this new rule (seeing conference opponents twice in three days), they just saw Brynn Hawley for 12 innings in a span of two days, so we needed something a little different, and maybe that did provide the spark.”
More: Softball roundup: Daily results and links for Skyland Conference, GMC, area Union County
More: Softball preview index: Links to Courier News and Home News Tribune 2025 preview package
Whether it was Eng’s effort or the fact Bridgewater-Raritan is too good of an offensive team to stay down for long, the Panthers finally went to work in the bottom of the sixth against Bernards ace Gabby Mongno, who had done a stellar job keeping the potent attack at bay, liming them to just a pair of hits to that point, doubles from Cai Mahovetz and Evelyn Fresco –
Amanda Ciser was hit by a pitch with one out, bringing up Angela Tremarco, who dropped a single into right field. The duo immediately executed a double steal, but the next hitter popped out and it looked like the Panthers would be stymied again.
But Cacchio came up looking for her first hit of the season. She worked the count to 2-2 and then unleashed a bullet toward the third-base bag that proved too hot to handle, getting through into left field and plating both runs.
“My (mindset) was just get the ball through the infield,” said Cacchio, who went 0-for-4 against Bernards opening day before walking three times at Delaware Valley on Wednesday. “There are two outs. It can’t be in the air.”
“She played the game of her life,” Baranowski said of her third baseman, who also turned in several sparkling plays on defense. “She’s up there looking for something she can handle and she’s confident. But she’s frustrated, too, and she took it out on the ball. It was absolutely hammered.”
Eng came back out for the seventh, starting the inning with her second strikeout, before getting a grounder to Cacchio, who made a nice play to gun the runner at first. Leadoff hitter Brooke Helpinstill then hit a smash toward the shortstop hole that Tremarco stopped with a dive, but Helpinstill beat the throw to first. Eng then induced a weak grounder to third to end it.
Eng earned the win, allowing just one hit and striking out two in two innings of relief of Hawley, who surrendered just a run on four hits, walking four and striking out two.
Gabby Mongno was stellar for Bernards, despite taking the hard luck loss, allowing just two late runs on four total hits, walking one and fanning five.
Despite the defeat, the game was a big step in the right direction for Bernards, especially at the plate. The Mountaineers lost seven starters to graduation, including six four-year starters, but coach Leslie O’Conner was pleased with the effort, although there’s still some cleaning up and learning to do.
“Our inexperience showed a little bit,” she said. “We were exposed in the areas we need to work on. We’re learning. We’re learning about being in tight situations and understanding how to handle those situations.
“Our hitting really improved. Our mental approach at the plate improved dramatically, just being aggressive, getting up there and bring scrappy and attacking the zone, and making pitchers throw a lot of pitches, and they did that today.”
BOX SCORE
BERNARDS (0-2) 000-100-0 – 1-5-1
BRIDGEWATER-RARITAN (2-1) 000-002-X – 2-4-0
WP: Eng (1-0) LP: Ga. Mongno (0-2)
2B: BR-Mahovetz, Fresco. SB: Ciser, Tremarco
Staff writer Simeon Pincus has been covering NJ sports since 1997, and has been on the softball beat since 1999. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter/X @SimeonPincus
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ Softball: Cacchio, Eng spark Bridgewater-Raritan over Bernards
Continue reading...
