OCEAN CITY – Ocean City High School’s softball team returns its two wunderkind, Jessica Mooney and Brooke Douglas, for their final season, and pairs them with a young team.
Mooney and Douglas made an impact with their pitching and hitting starting their freshman year and early indications are they aren’t done.
In Thursday afternoon’s game against Hammonton at home, Mooney had a single, home run and two RBI while handling the pitching duties. Douglas hit three singles in four at-bats.
“They’re finally seniors, which is bittersweet for sure,” head coach Carrie Merritt said. “I think they are really going to be the anchor of the team. And every day at practice, I tell them, ‘this is just your season. You know where you’re going to college. There’s no pressure, just go play the game you love. Tension free, loose and have fun with it.’
“I mean, they’ve changed this program for us so they deserve to have the best season.”
They will be the captains along with fellow senior Kiley McCorristin, a third four-year letter-winner who plays at catcher and outfield. She had two singles against Hammonton.
The rest of the team wasn’t slacking.
Sophomore Alex Rothman had three RBI and two singles, sophomore Leah Catto had a double and two singles, freshman Mackenzie Vandever had two singles and freshman Ava Seeberg added another single in the 7-3 victory over the Blue Devils.
“There were 15 hits, all up and down through the lineup, even with some of our freshmen,” Merritt said. “We have those senior anchors and then we have a really young team otherwise and they really produced in this early varsity-level game.”
The Red Raiders have moved up to the American Conference, which means “every game in our conference is going to be tough with (Egg Harbor Township) and Millville in there. Absegami moved up,” Merritt said. “We have a tough regular season plus we’ve added in some games against Delran and Rancocas Valley so we’re playing some really good competition.
“There’s not a single game on our schedule that I can look at and say, ‘OK, that’s a gimme.’”
With that being said, she added, “I think we have a pretty cohesive team. I think we have some of the strongest components both defensively and offensively that I’ve had in the last five years and I’m really hopeful for what the season will bring with that, but I know we’re going to have some bumps along the way.”
Merritt pointed out her starters against Hammonton were four freshmen, three sophomores, a junior and three seniors.
“I know we’re going to have some growing pains, but I think with the leadership – and I hate to jinx it – but the mood of the team, the collaboration, the positive energy I’m seeing, I’m just really excited for it.”
As usual, Mooney and Douglas will handle the pitching duties. Douglas takes over shortstop when not on the mound and Mooney goes to first base. Merritt plans to get Rothman on the mound a bit to prepare her for next season when those seniors are gone.
In the lineup, it’s Catto and McCorristin behind the plate, with Catto going to third when Mooney is on the mound. Freshman Vandever will do some time at third, second and shortstop. Sophomore Briar McNair, who got “a ton of time” as a freshman, will be in left field.
In center field is freshman Avery Watson. “She’s going to be the anchor of the outfield for years to come,” Merritt said. “She knows what she’s doing out there.
Maeve Daily, another freshman, was in right field Thursday. The coach expects some rotation of a handful of players at right field and second base.
Other teams in the American are Cedar Creek, St. Joseph of Hammonton and Vineland.
The Red Raiders are at Absegami Wednesday, April 1, and at St. Joseph Thursday. They’ll be home next at 11 a.m. Tuesday, April 7, during spring break, hosting Rancocas Valley.
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
