Fourth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan High School completed a furious comeback from an early five-run deficit against fifth-seeded Bayonne High School, as freshman Amanda Ciser’s walk-off, two-run double sealed a 7-6 victory in the NJSIAA North New Jersey, Section 2, Group state sectional quarterfinals on Friday, May 30, at the North Bridge Street Softball Complex in Bridgewater.
Bayonne had sent t 10 batters to the plate en route to a 5-0 lead after the top of the first inning, but freshman starting pitcher Rachael Eng surrendered just one more run the rest of the way. With two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Bridgewater-Raritan senior Sienna Newsome smacked a two-run single to cut Bayonne’s lead to 5-2 after one inning. The Panthers got one more run back in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI double by Angela Tremarco to draw the home team to within 5-3.
After a stalemate over the next two innings, an infield RBI single by Bridgewater-Raritan senior Evelyn Fresco made it a 5-4 ballgame heading into the sixth inning. While Bayonne added an insurance run in the top of the sixth and got out of back-to-back, bases-loaded jams in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings, Tremarco’s RBI single cut Bayonne’s lead to 6-5 heading into the seventh and final inning.
After a five-pitch, scoreless top of the seventh inning flicked by Eng, senior Madalyn Dolly and sophomore Jess Pastorick drew back-to-back walks with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to put the tying and winning run aboard for the Panthers.
Ciser then lasered the game-winning double to not give Bridgewater-Raritan its first and only lead of the game, but send it to the state sectional semifinals at top-seeded and No. 12-ranked Watchung Hills Regional High School Wednesday, June 4, in Warren.
With the victory, not only will the final postseason of retiring Bridgewater-Raritan head coach Sandy Baranowski be extended into the month of June. She moved into a tie for second place in all-time ictories with 365 amongst softball coaches in Somerset County, and will have an opportunity to stand alone when the Panthers travel to Arthur L. Johnson High School for a tregular-season game on Monday, June 2, iat 4 p.m. n Clark.