H.S. softball: Audubon's Yurcaba turns up heat on opposing pitchers

AUDUBON – Alyson Yurcaba spent countless hours in the batting cages throughout the winter months.

Now, as the heat of postseason softball begins to rise, that work is starting to pay real dividends.

The junior delivered a pair of two-out, two-run singles to spark the Audubon High School softball team to a 10-1 win over Schalick on a hot, steamy Saturday morning in the South Jersey Group 1 quarterfinal round.

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Yurcaba’s four RBIs are a career-high and marked the sixth straight game with multi-RBIs for the third baseman. Since May 1, she’s hitting .630 with 18 RBIs in nine games.

“My confidence is finally coming back,” said Yurcaba, who leads the club with 27 RBIs. “My teammates have been helping me out a lot too, I love 'em.

“I was hitting 24/7 throughout the winter. My dad was taking me to a hitting instructor on weekends and I’d have practice and workouts throughout the winter too. I’ve definitely seen a difference in my swing.”

Audubon head coach Erin Small has noticed, too.

“After a slow start, she’s had an unbelievable May,” Small said. “It’s seeing more pitches, better pitch selection, just being more patient and not pressing. She is beginning to understand of waiting for a good pitch, getting her hands to the ball and driving something. She has a lot of power and she was trying to get the big hit all the time. Today, she had two singles and drove in four runs.”

Yurcaba still possesses that extra pop too. Nine of her 25 hits have gone for extra bases, including a team-best four homers.

What it means

Audubon’s quest for that elusive sectional title continues as the top-seeded Green Wave (16-5) will host fifth-seeded Woodstown in Tuesday’s semifinal round of South Jersey Group 1. Game time is 4 p.m.

It’s been 17 years since Audubon last captured a South Jersey title and while most of the players weren’t even born when the Green Wave won it, they are fully aware of the championship drought.

“We’re so hungry for it,” Yurcaba said. “We want to be the team that gives (Coach Small) that title.”

Century mark

Audubon’s Dana Medlar collected her 100th career hit in Tuesday’s win over Paulsboro. The senior, who will be playing at Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester County next season, has knocks in 11 of her last 13 games. Despite going 0-for-3 against Schalick, Medlar is still batting .390 for the season.

“It’s really tough to do that in just three years,” Small said. “She had a monster year (40 hits, .500 batting average) at the plate to set up (getting the milestone) for this year. She’s a tough out, she’s got a ton of speed.”

Key plays

Audubon’s infield defense was busy throughout the game, but the Green Wave handled everything hit their way smoothly, turning nine grounders into outs.

“That’s what (starting pitcher Emily McCutcheon) does, she gets us a lot of groundballs and as long as we can play good defense, we’re tough to beat.”

Senior second baseman Alexandria Holton was flawless, scooping up six grounders, including one on the final play of the game.

“A lot goes that way and Alex handles all of it,” Small said. “She’s just so smooth. She’s one of the best defensive second basemen around.”

Yurcaba was just as smooth at the hot corner where she recorded three assists, including a couple of hard-hit chances.

Paper Cougar

The diamond proved to be tougher on the other side for Schalick first-year coach Erik Cagle.

After years of covering the sport as a freelance reporter for the Daily Journal in Vineland, Cagle guided the Cougars to a 9-6 record with one regular-season game against Deptford left.

“Having watched them for so many years as a reporter and then finally getting the opportunity to be their coach, you realize there’s more decision making that goes into it. …. it’s easy to be an armchair quarterback,” Cagle said.

“It was an interesting experience being a coach though. We had our ups and downs, but I’m glad I gave it a shot.”

Schalick finished second in the Tri-County Conference Diamond Division behind Woodstown.

“The win over Buena (a 10-6 decision) and the game against Gloucester Catholic (a 1-0 loss) because of the intensity of that game were two of the big moments that I’ll remember from this season.”

Tom McGurk is a regional sports reporter for the Courier-Post, The Daily Journal and Burlington County Times, covering South Jersey sports for over 30 years. If you have a sports story that needs to be told, contact him at (856) 486-2420 or email tmcgurk@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @McGurkSports. Help support local journalism with a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: H.S. softball: Audubon's Yurcaba turns up heat on opposing pitchers