South Plainfield softball rallies to win Group III championship

UNION -  South Plainfield High School softball coach Don Panzarella returned to the same sentence early Sunday night in the aftermath of the Tigers’ 3-2 victory over Steinert in the NJSIAA Group III final.

"The little things, the little things helped us," Panzarella said. "It's the little things we do. It's our thing."

Senior catcher Camryn Schaeffer’s RBI ground out capped the state-title winning rally that was delivered without benefit of a hit in the bottom of the seventh. The Tigers won on a walk off ground out that felt as powerful as a grand slam.

READ: METUCHEN SOFTBALL FALLS IN GROUP I FINAL

"I wanted it so bad for them," Panzarella said of his team.

After Steinert tied the game 2-2 in the top of the seventh, the Tigers had the advantage of having the top of the order eagerly waiting. Some of the little things Panzarella spoke about was the mentality of not letting a two-out, two-strike game-tying RBI hit in the top of the seventh get in the way of claiming a fourth state championship in the bottom of the inning – against the defending state champ no less.

"I was in the right spot in the order, someplace else maybe not," said Panzarella, who has led the Tigers to more than 700 wins. "I'm at the top of my order, I got hope."

Caity Hughes led off with a walk after working pitcher Kaylee Whittaker to a full count. Perhaps the biggest play of the inning came next when a wild pickoff attempt allowed Hughes to reach second. A strikeout on a sacrifice bunt attempt came next, but that was followed by consecutive walks to Jillian Holoboski (3-for-3, run, RBI) and winning pitcher Katherine Vill (27-4, 88 career wins). That loaded the bases for Schaeffer, whose winning ground out to deep short came on a full count. Hughes scored without a throw.

"I knew I just had to put the ball in play, we had Caity on third and I just had to make something happen," Schaeffer said. "It was the craziest count to be in. Sac fly, ground ball, anything. It was just so awesome to be able to get it done my senior year."

Steinert tied the game with two outs in the top of the seventh. With one down, pinch-hitters Alex Haley and Cora Bridges walked and singled respectively. The Tigers got the second out on a force at second, but a bad throw on an attempt to complete a double play allowed Haley to score with Taylor Hawkes moving to second.  

Whittaker fouled off several pitches and was down to her last strike, but singled to right, scoring Hawkes to tie the game. Vill got out of the inning with the score still tied.

"I was disappointed but you can't give up then, it's not like it's another game, it's the championship you have to come back, and I knew we had it in us," Vill said. "I just had to shut them down when they got those two runs and then we just had to come back on our own."

The Tigers' defense was part of what fueled the championship. In the sixth with runners on first and third and one out, right fielder Jennifer Grasso caught a shallow fly ball, then gunned down Courtney Danser at home to end the inning.

"I knew she was tagging, and them being down, they would take that risk," Grasso said.

"I always have faith in her, wherever the ball is she's going to get it," Vill said.

"Perfect throw," Schaeffer said. "It was fantastic and she's amazing. She's a little vacuum out there."

Panzarella said Grasso is the best right fielder he's seen, adding her game is enhanced by knowing exactly what situation her team is facing.

Grasso helped South Plainfield keep a 1-0 lead in the fifth by snatching a Whittaker liner that appeared to be headed  over her head. Not only did she catch it, but she then threw to first to double up Hawkes, who'd walked with one out, to end the inning. 

"They made some really good defensive plays when it counted," Steinert coach Jean Ruppert said. "That’s the name of the game of this level. That defensive play you make is going to be the difference in the ball game."

South Plainfield took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a two-out rally. Holoboski, Vill and Schaeffer had consecutive singles, and Schaeffer drove in Holoboski to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.

South Plainfield made it 2-0 in the fifth when Hughes reached on an infield single, moved to second on an error, was sacrificed to third by Grasso and came home on Holoboski's hit.

South Plainfield was seeded fourth in the inaugural Tournament of Champions and will play fifth-seed and Non-Public B champ Lodi Immaculate at 5 p.m. Tuesday  at Ivy Hill Park in Newark. The winner will play top seed and Group IV champ Egg Harbor at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. The championship game will be 7 p.m. Friday. The entire tournament will played at Ivy Hill.

"Seed them how they want, we'll go out and play. Everybody is like us, and we're like everybody," Panzarella said. "It's exciting. For us to be here and it to be the first one, I think it's great. For now, it's icing on the cake. If we can compete, we'll give it a shot."