Roxbury shuts out Morris Knolls to repeat as sectional softball champion
ROXBURY — Give Roxbury pitcher Hailey Errichiello a lead and watch the artist paint the picture.
That’s been the blueprint the Gaels have followed so far this season.
Over the last four weeks, the sophomore righty has put together some of her best work, flashing a 8-2 record in May with 92 strikeouts in 54 innings pitched.
But her best performances have come with the season on the line.
On Friday, the Gaels followed their script and Errichiello painted another masterpiece, no-hitting Morris Knolls, 7-0 in the NJSIAA North 1, Group 3 softball final.
It's the second straight sectional title for Roxbury and the fourth in program history.
Roxbury faces Nutley in Tuesday's Group 3 semifinals. The Raiders defeated West Morris, 10-5 in the North 2, Group 3 title game on on May 26.
“The team is great. They always have my back in the field,” Errichiello said. “Getting a lead makes me feel relaxed and it takes a little bit of the pressure off. I know when we’re up, I’m not as worried. I feel a little more confident this year.”
Errichiello came within an out of pitching a perfect game, issuing a walk to the last batter. She finished with 11 strikeouts in her third no-hitter of the season, second of the postseason. In four postseason games this season, the Gaels have outscored their opponents, 27-0.
Roxbury (22-3) broke through in the fifth inning when Kendall Fehsal launched a towering home run over the center field fence off Morris Knolls pitcher Leah Kleczkowski on an 0-2 count to give the Gaels a 1-0 lead.
Roxbury then loaded the bases on three consecutive base hits and senior Natalie Otto (2-for-2, three RBIs) hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Maddy Svenningsen (3-for-4, two runs) from third to give the Gaels a 2-0 lead.
“All I was thinking was that I had to swing. I knew she kept going low and I felt she was going to go outside. So I just swung. I knew it was gone,” said Fehsal, who was 3-for-4 with two home runs, three RBIs and two runs scored.
“We’re great together. We do better when we know that we have to play great. When we lose we come back even better.”
What it means
Roxbury is North 1, Group 3 sectional champion for the second straight year. Last spring, the Gaels lost to Cranford in the Group 3 semifinal.
Roxbury won sectional titles in 1972, 1992, 2021 and 2022.
This was the third meeting this season between Roxbury and Morris Knolls. The Gaels defeated the Golden Eagles, 12-0 in the Morris County Tournament quarterfinal round and 4-0 on May 13.
Roxbury has won 10 of the last 11 games.
Coming into the championship game, Morris Knolls (18-7) had won six straight games.
Big inning
Leading 2-0 to start the sixth inning, Roxbury added three runs in the frame to put the game out of reach.
The big blow was an opposite field, two run home run by Fehsal, her second of the game, to put the Gaels up 4-0.
Two batters later, Jayden Pennella (2-for-4, one run, one RBI) roped a double on a line drive to center field, scoring Svenningsen from second.
“Everyone knows she [Fehsal] was all-state last year and we know how many home runs she had. She puts a ton of pressure on herself to hit home runs for this team,” Roxbury coach Paul Critelli said. “Her expectations are almost too great. In the big game she comes out to play and she did it again for us and that’s huge.”
They said it
“I’m thrilled for the girls. When you win it when you’re not expected to win it, that’s awesome. But this year with the amount of girls we had returning, they knew the pressure was on. So to win it with all that pressure is a different feeling. It’s a relief.” – Critelli.
“Our defense is always working well together and our offense always finds a way to pull through and score a run. As soon as Kendall hit that first home run we all knew it was gone. We knew that scoring that one run was all we needed.” Errichiello
Nick Gantaifis is a high school sports reporter for Dailyrecord.com and NJHerald.com. For full access to live scores, breaking news and analysis, subscribe today.
Email: gantaifis@northjersey.com
Twitter: @ngantaifis1
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ Softball: Roxbury shuts out Morris Knolls to repeat as sectional champion
