Softball: Big inning propels Metuchen to the Central Group 2 final

METUCHEN - On April 14, Abby Kozo felt defeated for one of the only times this season.

Metuchen had surprisingly lost to South Plainfield in the quarterfinals of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament, where they were expected to be a championship contender.

She thought this was the year she’d win a county championship, and after that loss felt that there was almost no point in playing the rest of the season.

“I thought this was the year,” Kozo said. “I have so much faith in our team so when we don't come through (in) the situation, it really hurts because I know how hard we work and I know how much talent and potential we have. So it's frustrating when we can't play to that potential. I was feeling like, ‘what's the point of the season?’

"Everyone was telling me you’ve still got states but I never thought we could go this far in states. Counties was my priority. It was heartbreaking, but I had a ton of faith in myself and my team that we were going to come back from that and continue to chip away to get to this point.”

Three postseason games, 29 runs and 10 days later, Kozo’s mentality has flipped back to a confident and competitive one. As she walked off the mound screaming in exuberance after Metuchen had defeated Spotswood 6-2 in the semifinals of NJSIAA Central Group 2, one thing was clear: Metuchen is still a team to be feared.

A four-run fifth inning for Metuchen was the dagger, as the Bulldogs chased Spotswood starter Ava Mormile from the game and firmly asserted their dominance in this one.

“I think a lot of people see us as an underdog,” Kozo said. “They see as just this small school but we have talented players and a group of really tight, really gifted girls. When we play to our potential we can beat any team we want. Over these last few years it’s felt like we’ve proved a lot of people wrong. ... So after after these last few wins, we're just reminding everyone know who we are. This was a decisive win. It feels good to win and win by a lot.”

Feeling defeated no more, Kozo and the rest of Metuchen are ready to fight for that elusive championship that has slipped through their fingers the last few season.

What it means

With Tuesday’s win, Metuchen lives to play another day and will next play in the Central Group 2 sectional final, which will take place on May 27. The Bulldogs will play the winner of top-seed Bordentown and fifth-seed Governor Livingston.

Since its upset loss to South Plainfield in the GMCT quarterfinals, Metuchen has given up just two runs in its three games since.

With the loss, Spotswood’s season is over, finishing this year with a 22-4 record. The Chargers went undefeated in Blue Division play and had a 16-2 record in conference play.

The Chargers won 20 of its last 22 games this season.

Key plays 

Spotswood opened the scoring in the top of the first when Cynthia Rucinski drove in Jen Pokropinski, but a two-run home run from Bri De La Fuente in the bottom half gave Metuchen a 2-1 lead at the end of one inning.

With two outs in the top of the second, Alex Diaz and Pokropinski singled back-to-back, then Hanna Brown drove in Diaz with a single of her own to tie the game at 2-2.

The fifth inning was when Metuchen jumped out to a big lead, chasing Mormile from the game after scoring four runs in five at-bats.

To start the inning, Hannah Mindler singled and Carly Pichalski was hit by a pitch, then Kozo singled in Mindler to give Metuchen a one-run lead. One batter later, Pichalski scored on a sacrifice fly, then Leslie Flaherty finished off the onslaught with a high arcing two-run home run to right-center field to give the Bulldogs a 6-2 lead.

In the bottom half of the sixth Spotswood had a chance to cut into the lead with the bases loaded and two out, but Kozo was able to strike out Rucinski on five pitches to escape the jam.

Down to their final out, Spotswood had another shot to cut into the lead or tie the game with the bases loaded, but a line out to center field ended the game and the Chargers season.

By the numbers 

At the plate Kozo went 4-for-4 and had one RBI. In the circle she went all seven innings, giving up just two runs on 10 hits.

No other batter had more than one hit for Metuchen on the day, but Flaherty and De La Fuente each had two RBI with their home runs. Mia Szap had one RBI, driving in the fifth run of the afternoon for Metuchen on a sacrifice fly.

For Spotswood, Pokropinski went 3-for-4 at the plate, and Rucinski and Brown each had an RBI for the Chargers.

Mormile was the losing pitcher, going 4 1/3 and giving up all six runs along the way.

Unsung heroes 

Not so much an unsung hero but an unsung play happened in the top of the fifth inning. Brown had doubled to lead off the inning for Spotswood and tagged up to third base on a fly out in the next at-bat. Rucinski left second base too early and never attempted to go back. When the ball had reached the third basemen, both Kozo and De La Fuente were yelling for the ball to be thrown to second where the umpire called Rucinski out. The double play emptied the bases and Spotswood didn’t score in the inning.

They said it

Metuchen coach Hannah Thomas on the four-run fifth inning: “I could see it coming, and the great thing is that it started with our eighth hitter, it started with the bottom of our lineup. [Mindler] gets on with a single then we get the hit by pitch. At that point you just kinda know that runs are coming whether it’s from Abby or the next kid, it's gonna happen. That's just a great luxury as a coach to have.”

Thomas said, “This is big competition against tough teams. We're gonna have to claw every single game the rest of the way. The moment is never too big for this these kids, they know how to step up. They know how to dig deep. They know what they need to do personally to get themselves out of any sort of funk. Whether it's get a pep talk from one of their friends or just talk to themselves, they know what to do to get themselves focused and their teammates know what they need to be picked up in the moment. I'm very excited for Friday.”

Kozo on the fifth-inning double play: “I did see the runner leave early and Bri did a great job of noticing that right away too. You saw everyone rushing toward second base. That definitely changed the course of the game because there was a runner on with no out and then there were two outs and no one on in a second. We took over after that, we had the advantage. I yelled out to the field that we have the momentum now."

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Softball: Big inning propels Metuchen to the Central Group 2 final