By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
EASTAMPTON -- The NJSIAA tournament can put a team through a whirlwind of emotions in a very short span of time. One day a team can be celebrating a championship and the next it can be lamenting a tough loss that wiped away any good feelings it may have had.
Just five days ago, Middletown South's softball team had its signature moment of the 2008 season when it rallied to win the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III title, but on Tuesday the Eagles could not recapture the magic against Kingsway in the Group III semifinals. The South Jersey Group III champion Dragons scored in the second inning and their pitcher, right-hander Jamie Minix, held the Eagles down the rest of the way for a 1-0 victory at the Rancocas Valley Sports Complex.
Kingsway third baseman Caitlyn Jenkins led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple to deep left field and came around to score on a passed ball with two outs. The Eagles had a runner on second with one out in the top of the seventh, but Minix was able to induce a pop up and a ground ball to second base to put the Dragons into their first Group III title game since making back-to-back finals in 1998 and 1999.
"It's really hard because I know we did really well this year and we felt like we deserved to win," said centerfielder Lauren Ciesmelewski, who along with third baseman Jess Fuentes are the Eagles' only seniors. "But I guess you don't deserve to win if you don't get the hits."
The Eagles had four hits on the afternoon, but only two after the first inning, when they had runners on first and second with two outs. South also had a runner in scoring position in the third inning but Minix was able to prevent the Eagles from getting the base hit they needed to extend what had been a magical postseason run.
"It's a bitter pill to swallow," said Eagles head coach Tom Erbig. "We have a real young team and a great group of girls. You feel sorry for them, but you have to score runs to win and we couldn't put any hits together."
The Dragons will now play Iselin's John F. Kennedy High School on Saturday and try to capture their first group championship since 1999.
In the first inning, Middletown South looked like it was on pace for a good offensive day when leftfielder Julia Kuhn and first baseman K.D. Rohlander put together consecutive singles with two outs. Eagles junior pitcher Liza Kuhn followed with a sharp ground ball that was headed up the middle, but Kingsway second baseman Jessie Minix made a nice play to range to her right, knock the ball down and flip to second for the force.
Kingsway had a good start to the game as well, putting runners on first and third with one out in the bottom half of the first inning. Jessie Minix led off with an infield single and then stole second. Liza Kuhn then got Jamie Minix looking at strike three for the first out. Catcher Danielle Rice then reached on an fielding error and Minix moved to third on a throwing error to put runners on the corners with one down. Kuhn battled back, however, getting a pop-up to second base and diffusing the rally with a strikeout.
"She definitely kept us in the game," Erbig said. "When we needed a strikeout she went and got one."
Minix got the Eagles 1-2-3 in the top of the second before her team came to bat and took the first and only lead of the game. Jenkins smacked a triple to deep left field to start the bottom of the second, but Kuhn was able to get consecutive strikeouts to pull within one out of getting out of the inning. She had two strikes on No. 9 hitter Arianna D'Aqua, but her next pitch got away form the catcher and allowed Jenkins to score from third. On the very next pitch, Kuhn caught D'Aqua looking at the third strike to end the inning.
"The pitch was off and I can't do anything about it now," Kuhn said. "I would have loved to have struck her out on that pitch but dealing with things like this makes you a better player."
"That's the hardest part, the way they scored," Erbig said.
The Eagles looked like they might get the run back in the top of the third inning when designated hitter Sam Marxen led off with an infield single. Her slap to the left side was knocked down on a diving attempt by Jenkins and the ball trickled away toward the third base dugout. Marxen took a big turn at first with an idea of going to second, but she slipped as she rounded first and was thrown out as she scrambled to get back. After a strikeout, shortstop Ashley Sogluizzo walked and stole second to give the Eagles a runner in scoring position. Mininx, however, was able to get a ground ball to get out of the inning.
Liza Kuhn had a one out single in the fourth but was stranded there by Minix. The Eagles then went down in order in the fifth and sixth innings but had a shot to tie the game in the seventh. Liza Kuhn reached on an error to start the inning before being forced out at second when Keri Kent reached on an error. On the same play, however, Kent was able to move to second on another error with one out. Minix buckled down, though, getting Fuentes to pop out to second and Ciesmelewski to ground out to second to end the game.
"It was really hard to make the last out in my last year," Ciesmelewski said. "But I"m really happy we went far and overall had a good season. Today just wasn't our day."
Despite Tuesday's defeat, 2008 was indeed a very good season for the Middletown South softball program. The Eagles rose back to prominence after a few down seasons to play consistently as a top-10 team in the Shore Conference. They were able to put things together in the state tournament, topping defending Group III champion Wall in the Central Jersey Group III semifinals before rallying to defeat Monroe, 3-2, and win their first sectional title since 2002. Fuentes and Ciesmelewski are the team's only seniors, so a duplicate of this season - with a better ending of course - is what the Eagles are looking forward to.
"Everything is a learning experience," Liza Kuhn said. "We're going to get better and we're going to try to come back and win next year. It was a great feeling winning a sectional title and bringing respect back to Middletown South."
"Even though we didn't have a lot of seniors everyone had so much talent," Ciesmelewski said. "When it all meshed it worked out so well for us. This year has been really rewarding for me. It's been an honor to play for this program."
Box Score
Kingsway 1, Middletown South 0
Middletown South (18-9) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 4 2
Kingsway (22-3) 0 1 0 0 0 0 X - 1 4 3
Triples: (K) Caitlyn Jenkins
WP: Jamie Minix (20-3)
LP: Liza Kuhn (15-5)
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badders@digitalsports.com