GMC Softball: Bishop Ahr shuts out Old Bridge behind LaRochelle and Reddick
OLD BRIDGE – The left arm of senior pitcher Christine LaRochelle and the bat and legs of senior shortstop Ragen Reddick were out in full force Tuesday morning for the Bishop Ahr High School softball team.
LaRochelle struck out nine and walked one while pitching a six-hit shutout and Reddick went 2-for-3 with a home run, three RBI, and three runs scored as Bishop Ahr, ranked No. 5 in the Home News Tribune Preseason Top 10 poll, defeated No. 9 Old Bridge 5-0 at Phillips Park.
"Christine pitched a very good game," Bishop Ahr coach Missy Collazo said. "She mixed up her pitches well, mixed up her locations. She worked ahead. She did a really good job putting the ball over the plate and mixing it up. We had a couple nice hits, we played pretty gfood defense today — made a couple nice plays in the field. We got a good overall effort."
LaRochelle took the circle in the bottom of the first inning already ahead 2-0 after Bishop Ahr (2-1) capitalized on a pair of Old Bridge (0-3) errors to score a pair of unearned runs.
She allowed a hit in each of the first six innings but the Knights stranded eight runners over that time as they were unable to capitalize.
"She's a really dominant pitcher, it's really good to have her," Reddick said. "They picked up her signs, but they still dominated in there. She did a great job today."
The Trojans tacked on a run in the third when the Seton Hall-bound Reddick drew a one-out walk, stole second and third base without a throw on the next two pitches, and then raced home on an RBI groundout from Amanda Julve.
It was 3-0 for a while until the top of the seventh, when once again, Reddick went to work on the basepaths.
LaRochelle singled with one out and two batters later Reddick laced an opposite field line drive over the right fielder's head that trickled down towards the right field corner that sits 280 feet from home plate as Reddick zoomed around the basepaths for a two-run inside-the-park homerun that increased the Trojans' lead to 5-0.
"I just like to put my head down and run," said Reddick, "and pick up Miss (Collazo) because she knows what she's doing. She's a good coach."
Old Bridge dropped its third straight game to open the season as the Knights played a solid game, not making any errors in the field after the first inning and junior pitcher Alex Grubiak allowed three earned runs on six hits while taking the loss.
The Knights though have been plagued by injuries in the early parts of the season — two of the team's best hitters in sophomore shortstop Meaghan Dowdell, who is out for the season, and sophomore outfielder Amanda Carney, who isn't expected back for at least 2-3 more weeks, haven't played which has forced head coach Mike Bilello's hands a bit, as Old Bridge started four freshmen on Tuesday.
Freshman catcher Jess Ahearn went 2-for-3 batting cleanup for the Knights while Grubiak went 1-for-2 with a double.
Freshman third baseman Katie Eicher had a 2-for-3 day with an RBI and Katie Cavico, a junior, doubles for Bishop Ahr, which has put together two solid wins over East Brunswick and Old Bridge since an opening day loss against South Plainfield.
"It seems like we have good senior leadership," Collazo said. "They're good leaders, they know what they're doing, they take care of business and we actually have two freshmen that start and they deserve to be there, they're very talented, and they follow the example of all the upperclassmen. We have a nice mix of grades and talent."