By Bob Badders - Senior Writer
TOMS RIVER -- There are moments as an athlete when you realize that if something is going to be done, it has to happen now. That moment came in the bottom of the sixth inning for Red Bank Catholic senior centerfielder Liz Black.
Leading off the inning with the score tied at zero, Black slapped a double over third base for just the Caseys' third hit of the game against Immaculate Heart Academy pitcher Christina Mique. After moving to third on a wild pitch, Black tagged and scored when sophomore catcher Jess Long lifted a sacrifice fly to deep center field. Junior right-hander Brittany O'Donnell closed things out in the seventh inning to give the Caseys a 1-0 win over the Blue Eagles and the NJSIAA Non-Public A state championship on Saturday at Toms River High School East.
"I just wanted to get things started," Black said. "They were playing in and I was slapping, so I got angry and tried to slap it as hard as possible. It's all so exciting. It's great to end my senior year like this."
For Long, her status in the game was in doubt just a half inning earlier. A hard slide at home by Alyssa Sceppaguercio in the top of the sixth with the bases loaded sent Long falling hard to her back. She stayed down for several minutes, but eventually regrouped and stayed in the game.
"I really wasn't sure if she was going to stay in the game," said Caseys head coach Tracey Yarosz-Lombardi. "I wanted her to take all the time she needed, if that took all day then fine. We needed her back there."
With Black standing just 60 feet away from scoring the game's first run, Long had put her momentary injury behind her and was focused on nothing more than doing everything she could to get the runner home.
"I knew I just had to put the ball in play," Long said. "I started getting pumped as I was going down to first, even as the ball was caught, because I knew Liz would score."
"I just tagged up and ran as fast as I could," Black said.
Saturday's state title was the third for Red Bank Catholic's softball program and the first since 2005. The Caseys also won a Non-Public B title in 1997. It capped off a brilliant season that saw RBC win the Class A Central title, the Monmouth County Tournament title, the NJSIAA Non-Public South A title and finally an overall group title to finish at 26-2.
The Caseys developed into a very balanced team with a solid lineup and stingy defense, but it would be hard to argue that the team's most important player was anyone but O'Donnell. The Notre Dame recruit was perhaps the most dominant pitcher in the state during 2008. She finished with a 25-2 record and tossed her 23rd shutout of the season on Saturday. Already an excellent pitcher as a sophomore, she became practically unhittable as a junior.
"Every game I catch her I enjoy," Long said. "It's such a privilege. She buckles down in tough situations. That can be tough for a pitcher to do but Brittany does it every time."
For five innings against IHA there was no trouble to speak of. She had allowed only a fifth-inning single but had to work out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth inning with some help from her defense. She hit Sceppaguercio to start the inning and she then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. O'Donnell then issued a walk to Taylor Cosentino and hit Kelsey Trujillo to load the bases. She got Mique to ground to Marie Flego at third, who threw home to nip Sceppaguercio on the play that left Long shaken up. The defensive play of the game came by shortstop Alan DiMaso, who ended the sixth with a Willy-Mays-like over-the-shoulder catch on a blooper hit by Nikki Osofski to save at least one run from scoring.
"I didn't hear anyone calling for it so I knew it was my ball," DiMaso said. "I knew we were in trouble if it dropped."
"The defense was again unbelievable, that's what carried us all the way," O'Donnell said. "It's an unbelievable feeling to win a state championship. We believed in ourselves and went out strong in every game."
What made Saturday's victory, and really the entire 2008 season, so special for RBC was how close of a team it became as the season went on. Players routinely commented how badly they wanted to win for each other and how being a tight-knit group played a major role in their success.
"The team chemistry was unbelievable," O'Donnell said. "We always believed in each other and picked each other up. And to win a state championship with my freshman sister (first baseman Kaitlyn) is awesome."
"They are such a young team so in the beginning they were a little shaky," Yarosz-Lombardi said. "But they jelled well and really picked each other up. That helped us lift to another level."
Box Score
Immaculate Heart Academy (25-8) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 2 2
Red Bank Catholic (26-2) 0 0 0 0 0 1 X - 1 2 0
WP: Brittany O'Donnell (25-2)
LP: Christina Mique.
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badders@digitalsports.com