MOORESTOWN – A strong second half of the season led Mainland Regional High School’s softball team to the South Jersey Group III sectional championship game Saturday afternoon.
The Mainland Mustangs entered the final round on a six-game winning streak as they traveled to top seed Moorestown High School.
Quaker pitcher Violet Marta controlled the game from start to finish as Moorestown shut out the Mustangs 5-0 June 1. Marta had 11 strikeouts and did not walk a single batter.
The Mustangs were on their back foot from the first inning. Lily Marta got Moorestown on the board with an RBI double.
Violet Marta then helped her own cause with a two-run home run to put the Mustangs in a 3-0 hole after the first inning.
“They caught us in the first inning,” Mainland head coach Brian Smith said. “It kind of deflates you a little bit when you go down, but we have come back before against Ocean City and Cherry Hill West. We could have folded with three runs in the first, but we kept battling.”
The Mustangs reached the championship round after they won their last two playoff games, coming from behind.
In the quarterfinals, Mainland entered the seventh inning down 2-1 to rival Ocean City but scored four runs to advance in a 5-2 victory.
Two days later the Mustangs were down 5-2 after four innings against Cherry Hill West. Junior Leilani Deleon-Carney had four RBIs in the game and elevated Mainland to its second straight comeback victory.
For the third time in as many games the Mustangs faced a deficit in the playoffs, but Moorestown did not give them the opportunity.
Deleon-Carney hit a double to centerfield to start the second inning but had two straight Mustangs strike out to strand her at second base. Mainland only had three base hits as Violet Marta pitched a near perfect game.
Senior pitcher Bella D’Agostino regained control after the rough first inning. She had the bases loaded later in the third, but only gave up one run to keep Mainland within striking distance.
“She has that tenacity to not give up,” Smith said. “That’s a four-year varsity senior who knows what it takes. She has been through the battles. In this situation she kept us there, but we could not get back in it this time.”
The Mustangs started the season winning only three of their first 13 games and were the No. 10 seed in the tournament. But as the season progressed the Mustangs played their best softball and won six games in a row, including No. 2 seed Ocean City.
Mainland, which finished with an 11-13 record, is losing a small but talented senior class but the younger players gained valuable experience in their playoff run..
“We have some young pieces and some building blocks that are going to help in the future,” Smith said. “We needed to figure out how to win. As a coaching staff, and I give a lot of credit to my assistant coaches, we needed to put people in the right places for them to be successful. Once we found that mixture, they put it together.”
In addition to D’Agostino, Mainland will send off Bella Barretta and Denver Obermeyer. The trio had great careers at Mainland.
– By WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel