Softball: Eicher pitches perfect game, Bishop Ahr advances in GMC Tournament

WOODBRIDGE - After getting knocked out of the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament in the first round last year, the Bishop Ahr softball team has been on the hunt for redemption.

Bishop Ahr found it on Monday afternoon as junior pitcher Katie Eicher tossed a perfect game and the ninth-seeded Trojans defeated No. 8 South River 7-0 to advance to the GMC Tournament quarterfinals.

"We knew they were going to be good competition, so we were expecting them to be a good team and we came ready to play," Bishop Ahr's Colleen Sharlow said. "We were expecting anything. (Mackenzie Garrick) was a really good pitcher, she was very, very good and we just had a couple of clutch hits. We've been practicing very hard the past couple of weeks with our coaches and they've been really drilling in on us and we've seen a lot of good pitchers throughout the season so that helped us prepare for today."

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The Trojans (15-6) will face top-seeded South Plainfield in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. It will be the third meeting this season as the two teams split during the regular season. The Tigers won the first game 5-1 back on April 10, and Bishop Ahr won the second matchup 1-0 on April 27.

According to Sharlow, her teammates are very excited to get another chance to play South Plainfield (19-3), which has been one of the best teams in the GMC this season. Bishop Ahr, on the other hand, has gone on a slightly different route. The Trojans started the season 3-3 before going on a five-game win streak in which it outscored opponents 71-5. They then hit a skid in which they lost three out of four, but have won their last six games, stretching back to May 1.

"Overall it's gone well, I would say," Sharlow said of the season. "Every game we just try and get ahead really early and carry on throughout the game. Facing adversity early helps you later in the season, rather than it just jumping on us towards the end and it's kind of unbalanced, so when we see it towards the beginning than I would say it helps us towards the end."

Bishop Ahr used what it's learned this season in order to get a jump on South River on Monday. Garrick kept the Trojans off-balance in the first two innings before they broke through for a run in the top of the third. Eicher, who said she last pitched a perfect game when she was about 10 years old, definitely helped the cause, but the Trojans were patient and fed off each other which helped lead to hits over the course of the game.

"I knew in the fifth inning and then in the seventh, I had a three and one (count) and I was like, 'You got this,'" Eicher said of her perfect game. "We're so excited, it's redemption for last year. We're bonding now, we're ready to win it, we want to win. We're excited, and we're pushing each other harder and harder every day."

Eicher finished Monday's game with 16 strikeouts and finished 3-for-4 with a run scored. Sharlow also finished 3-for-4 with two triples and scored a run. Colleen Cronin tripled twice, scored a run and had one RBI.

For South River (19-3), it was only the second time this season it has allowed more than four runs in a game. The Rams, which have lost two in a row since winning 18-straight, have 12 shutouts this season. Garrick has been stellar, with 261 strikeouts in 110 innings pitched. She had 12 strikeouts against Bishop Ahr on Monday.

"She was a fantastic pitcher and we hit her, so that was great because we know we can hit anyone else," Eicher said. "It was great competition."

Bishop Ahr will look to feed off its momentum heading into Wednesday. Sharlow believes that if the team can stay focused and determined, anything is possible, especially if Eicher can bring a repeat performance.

"Once one of us starts going the rest of us feed off each other with the energy," Sharlow said. "And Katie pitched a perfect game, she did really well, so if she can use that momentum against South Plainfield I think we have a good chance."

Staff Writer Lauren Knego: lknego@gannettnj.com; on Twitter: @laurenknego