By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Keri Tricinelli had faith in her Red Raider softball players, even though they may have given her heart palpitations in their close 9-8 win over visiting Atlantic County Institute of Technology Friday afternoon at the Sixth Street field.
The Ocean City girls led almost the entire game, with one run in the first inning, three more in the third and two in the fourth for a 6-2 lead. Although ACIT scored two runs to Ocean City’s one in the fifth inning, the Red Raiders still had a 7-4 lead heading into the top of the seventh.
All the girls needed to do was close out the the game, but ACIT had other ideas.
After loading the bases on a combination of hits and walks, Lola Sarni hit a grand slam, the first of the junior’s career, sending the ball over the center field fence.
In a few seconds, Ocean City’s 7-4 lead had turned into an 8-7 deficit.
Tricinelli, however much the turnaround aged her in the course of a half-inning, knew she had good batters coming up in the bottom of the seventh, as did pitcher Hailey Neville, who gave up the bases-clearing homer.
“I’m pretty sure my heart rate was in the 180s,” the coach laughed after the game. “I don’t know, but I also had no doubt at the same time. I knew we would come back, put a fight up either way.” Her players, she said, “just like to make things interesting. That’s what happens. They give me a heart attack, then it’s all good.”
Neville said giving up that grand slam was “heart-wrenching. I was kind of getting nervous because they were coming back,” but she was confident. She said she knew her team had the time to come back and “We had the heart of our lineup up” to bat
Catcher Brooke Groover-Illas started things off with a double, her second of the day. Aneecia Morales came on as a pinch-runner and boldly stole third base, putting her in position to tie the game. She didn’t need to steal home as the Red Raiders quickly loaded the bases and a walk brought her home.
Anna McCabe came up and sent a pitch into the outfield, scoring a pair of runners, but it only took one more – Neville – to make it home for the 9-8 win, immediately ending the game.
Tricinelli said her team was up for the game right from the start.
“They came right in fired up and ready to go. I didn’t have to say a thing,” she said. “I let them make their own energy and they produced. It worked out.”
Cristina Barbella scored three runs on three at-bats with a double and single. Groover-Illas had two RBI. Soph Cera also had two RBI with her own double. Natalia Cesari had two singles and an RBI, MacKenzee Segich and Alexis Illas each had a single and RBI, and McCabe’s single and RBI proved the game-winner. Morgan Rocap had a single and she and Morales each scored two runs. Morales had two stolen bases in the game.
The coach said some of her key hitters this season have been Barbella, Segich, Neville and Groover-Illas. “We have people just showing up and making key hits. Some of our underclassmen are stepping up and everybody is stringing it along. They’re all stepping up in their own way,” she said.
“We have a good pitching staff right now but Hailey has been pitching the majority for us,” Tricinelli added. Kailey Grimley and Alex Illas also spend time on the mound for the 7-3 Red Raiders.
Neville said she has had one shutout so far this season, but her best memory was facing unbeaten St. Joseph’s of Hammonton earlier this season. St. Joe’s is 15-0 and got the coach her 300th career win against the Red Raiders, but Neville kept the team scoreless through six innings.
“I pitched against St. Joe’s and it was 0-0 until the top of the seventh inning. They had their 300th win against us. It felt great because he (a St. Joe’s coach) is my hitting coach. He knows me,” she laughed.
Tricinelli said the St. Joe’s game was “another heart attack. That game I couldn’t be more proud of them. They played the best defense I’ve ever seen them play. It was probably the best performance I’ve ever seen Hailey put out.
“We were getting runners on. We just couldn’t capitalize,” she said. “To go toe-to-toe with a team like that that’s super disciplined, I couldn’t ask for much more, other than a win. I couldn’t be more proud of this team.” The coach hopes to get a few more wins this week and is taking it “one day, one game at a time.” She hopes they reach the goal of making the state tournament. And then “it’s a clean slate and we start all over again. We’ll see how it goes.”