OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City and Holy Spirit high school softball teams saved the best for the last two innings Friday.
After three scoreless stanzas, the Spartans plated one run in the top of the fourth. Ocean City wasn’t able to respond in the bottom of the inning and neither team scored in the fifth.
In what looked like a low-scoring affair in the making ended up anything but in a fierce-but-friendly game under threatening skies and a strong, chilly wind.
In the top of the sixth, Red Raider Brooke Douglas took to the mound to relieve Jessica Mooney, who allowed one run and three hits through five innings. After a fly out and a strikeout, Douglas gave up a hit and a walk, putting two Spartans on base.
That’s when Grace Long slammed a shot into the outfield, scoring a runner and putting Holy Spirit up 2-0.
Douglas struck out the next batter to end another threat.
Mooney, who moved over to first base when Douglas took the mound, started off the bottom of the sixth with a double to the outfield. Her fellow pitcher brought her home with a double of her own.
Ocean City was finally on the scoreboard.
Carlee Hiddeman laid down a nice bunt, moving pinch runner Keira Murray (in for Douglas) to third base.
Annabelle Shumski stepped up to the plate and hit a deep sacrifice fly, tying the game as Murray hurried home.
That was the first of two times the Red Raiders rallied. The second came after the top of the seventh as the Spartans took advantage of Douglas to score three more runs.
Holy Spirit’s Jazlynn Santiago drew a walk to start the inning. MK Armstrong singled to move Santiago to third. With runners on first and third, Mia Merlino walked to load the bases with no outs.
Madi Berry hit a single to put Spirit back into the lead, 3-2. Douglas walked Josie Long, bringing in another run, 4-2. A dropped fly ball in the outfield scored Spirit’s fifth run.
Douglas got her pitches in order and struck out the next three batters.
The Raiders were down 5-2 and facing Spartan pitcher Mary Kate Armstrong, who has gone the distance.
Carly Hennis drew a walk. So did Taylor Vaugh.
With runners on first and second, Armstrong added to her 10 total strikeouts in the game.
That brought up Mooney, who hit to second. Vaugh was out, but Mooney was safe. Hennis scored. Douglas came up and slammed a shot to bring Mooney home, closing the gap to 5-4, but that’s all the Raiders could muster.
“It’s Senior Day and we saw every Raider out on the field today, so that’s pretty cool,” head coach Carrie Merritt said. “We have a great relationship with Holy Spirit. It’s one of those coaches and teams that you like to play against.”
“I think it would have been easy just to lay down and call it a day, but they started coming alive,” Merritt said of her players, who could have given up down 2-0 and 5-2, but didn’t. “It was just a little too late.”
She acknowledged it has been a trying week. The girls lost to St. Joseph of Hammonton 7-1 and to Vineland 10-0 before the loss to Spirit. Those three losses followed six straight wins.
“We’ve had a tough week on the diamond. Some tough losses. I saw some fight today. I hope that fight continues to build as we move forward into next week for the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament and then for South Jerseys,” Merritt said.
The coach said Douglas is working on her command pitching in big situations, and that she and fellow junior Mooney, who split most games on the mound, feel the importance this season both for themselves and for the seniors on the team.
“They just need to settle in a little bit, they’re still learning not to do too much,” Merritt said. “But, hey, you’ve got to love two kids who are willing to put themselves out there.”
Spirit improved to 14-7 with the win.
The Red Raiders are the No. 3 seed in the CAL tournament and beat No. 6 Oakcrest 8-0 Monday, improving their record to 13-7.
Hiddeman hit a home run and two singles and had four RBI. Douglas had two singles and three RBI and struck out 13 batters over five innings.
The Raiders face No. 2 St. Joseph at 4 p.m. Thursday in the semifinals.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
