LINWOOD – The Ocean City Red Raiders started their season off with a win over the rival Mustangs, a reversal of the way the teams ended their 2024 seasons.
The Raiders scored in all but one inning as they efficiently took down Mainland Regional High School 11-2 on Monday, March 31.
Last May in the South Jersey Group III playoffs, the No. 10 seed Mustangs upset the No. 2 Red Raiders in the quarterfinals and then made it to the finals of the tournament, where they lost to champion Moorestown.
Seventh-inning heroics won last year, when the Mustangs scored four runs in the top of the seventh after trailing 2-1 through the sixth.
This week, seven different Raiders recorded at least one RBI in the game with Briar McNair bringing home three runs with a triple in the seventh inning that sealed the game.
Ocean City’s offense consistently put the ball in play and forced Mainland’s defense to make tough plays. Shortstop Kaia Bergman made a couple of great catches to keep Mainland in the game, but the Raider bats were a little too hot.
Last season’s hits leader Brooke Douglas picked up where she left off and had three hits against Mainland while teammate Jessica Mooney brought in a run of her own. The juniors led Ocean City in most offensive categories last season while also being the team’s two starting pitchers.
Mooney started for the Raiders on the mound and got straight to work. She surrendered only one hit in her five innings and struck out seven batters. Douglas came in to clean up the final two innings and struck out four of six Mainland batters.
Together, the duo of Douglas and Mooney has pitched every game for Ocean City since they arrived as freshman two years ago. Douglas had a double and two singles, Carly Hennis and Taylor Vaugh two singles each, and Ellie Wisham had a single and McNair also had a single to go with her triple.
The Ocean City pitchers kept a Mainland offense – one that scored 14 runs three days earlier – in check until Mackenzie Hornig created a window of opportunity for the Mustangs.
Mainland broke through Mooney’s pitching in the bottom of the fifth inning through their own pitcher, Hornig. The sophomore came up to bat with two players on base down 5-0. With two outs already in the inning, Hornig sent a pitch way out into left field for a 2-RBI triple to bring the Mustangs within striking distance. Bergman had a double and Mallory Grasso a single.
However, the Raiders continued to slowly score one run at a time until they broke through in the final inning with a five-run explosion to put the game out of reach.
Hornig leads a brand-new pitching rotation for the Mustangs after the graduation of ace Bella D’Agostino. D’Agostino left some big shoes to fill as she pitched almost every inning of last season.
Horning only pitched four innings in her freshman year. Along with Horning the Mustangs have started to use freshman Mallory Grasso. In Mainland’s win against Cedar Creek High School, Grasso pitched the final two innings and preserved the lead.
With the first week of games behind them the Mustangs have a 1-2 record heading into April. Mainland will have to wait until May for the rematch against Ocean City.
The Mustangs have a two-game road trip upcoming with the first game being against Millville High School on April 2. Their final game of the week will be a trip up to Hammonton on April 4 to take on a strong St. Joseph squad that is 2-0 so far. Both games are set to begin at 4 p.m.
After their opening day win over Mainland, Ocean City has a tightly packed schedule with five home games in five days. The Raiders are hosting Cedar Creek on April 2 followed by a matchup against perennial softball powerhouse Egg Harbor Township High School on April 4.
Over the weekend, Ocean City will host their second annual War at the Shore event where many far away schools will descend upon Ocean City for a softball showcase.
The Raiders will play twice on April 5, first against Camden Catholic at 9 a.m. and will quickly move on to finish a game against Penn Charter from Pennsylvania at 2 p.m. Finally, Ocean City will wrap up the event on April 6 against the Delaware Military Academy at 9 a.m.
– STORY by WILLIAM TRUITT/For the Sentinel
– PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
