6/17/2012 - Wildcats Win Thriller
It has been over a week and I still can’t fully digest what transpired last weekend at Toms River North High School.
Yes, I was there and witnessed with my own two eyes Jamie Christensen of High Point delivering the biggest hit in school history and one of the biggest in Sussex County lore.
Yes, I watched Carly Satter despite battling a pulled quad and numerous foot and back injuries score from second with two outs in the bottom of the 11th on that hit to propel High Point to a thrilling 1-0 win over Kingsway to win the Group 3 state title.
So I know it happened, the thing is, however, is the fact the Wildcats were able to pull out the victory against Kingsway pitcher Kelsey Dominick, the Gatorade Player of the Year, still boggles the mind, and that is no slight on the Wildcats.
The game had so many twists and turns it would make Stephen King’s head dizzy, yet the tough-as-nails Wildcats were determined to win.
There were several times during the marathon contest that lasted almost three hours in which the Cats could have folded. The young squad with only two seniors could have said we were just happy to get here and we will get back to the final next year and win as seniors.
That thought never crossed their minds. If they were going to make the two-hour trek down the Shore, they were sure going to bring some hardware back to the mountains of Sussex County.
There were several things I will always remember about the game other than Christensen facing a 0-2 count against one of the state’s best and lining a single to center to set off a wild celebration.
I will remember High Point star hurler Ally Frei, who finished her sophomore year with an amazing 26-0 record and state high 362 strikeouts, battle for three hours despite not getting the corners, the spots on the plate where she makes her living.
She shook off the tight zone and still kept one of the most dangerous lineups 1-through-9 in the entire state off the scoreboard.
Amazing.
But it almost did not end that way and that was thanks to some terrific defense from Satter at second base, who made the second best defensive play of the game to end the top of the eighth.
With the bases loaded and two outs she made a spectacular play behind first base to rob Kara Grogan of a certain hit and possibly two RBI, which could have sealed the deal for the Dragons.
It didn’t sink in at first (there seems to be a theme here) what a great play Satter made until after the team headed to the dugout and I turned to Tyler Adkins our esteemed cameraman, and we both went “Wow.”
But that wouldn’t the last time we would have a Wow Moment, no sir. The next one came the very next inning and what a doozy of a play it was for the Wildcats.
Again, the Dragons were threatening in the top of the ninth with a runner on second and two outs. And it finally looked like Kingsway was going to break through against Frei as Becca Barb sent a single to right.
But Michaela O’Hern came up throwing from right field and sent a seed to home plate where Christensen was doing her best impression of the Great Wall of China. Christensen blocked the plate legally and after a short delay, the up called the runner out and it remained scoreless.
I have seen big plays in my time covering softball, but none other than that one. Not even close considering the situation. But that is Christensen, who said after the game that pressure makes an athlete and she should know.
There haven’t been too many clutch players like Christensen to come through this area in a long time.
That play, and of course the game-winning hit, plus her game-winning goal to beat Belvidere 1-0 in the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex final last fall and her homer to upset No. 2 seed West Milford in the states when she was a sophomore, puts Christensen in a very select group of Sussex County athletes.
Like I have said, I have seen quite a few outstanding games in my tenure covering softball, but this one is in the top two along with Dawn Gilchrist of Jefferson winning the Group 2 state title in 2003 with a walkoff two-run dinger to give Hall-of-Fame coach Ed Levens the first of his two state titles.
As one of probably just a few people to witness both, I can’t pick one or the other. But both were magnificent.
It was a perfect way to wrap up arguably one of the most competitive and successful softball seasons I have seen since I started covering the sport in 1989.
I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did.
That’s it for now, see you on the sidelines.
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