Comment
Print
They’ve done it! Three months and 31 games later, the Lady Cavaliers of East Rutherford (27-4) have won the 2A State Softball Title.
Saturday’s championship bout, didn’t come easy after a tense 2-1 Game 1 victory on Friday. Jordan-Matthews came back from a 3-0 deficit in Game 2 to take a 4-3 decision, which set up a series deciding Game 3, three hours later.
All year long, Savannah Davis led her team from the pitching circle, but she drove in two runs in Game 3 and outlasted Jordan-Matthews in an exhausting nine-inning, 4-2 victory for the 2A State Championship.
Emily Dotson, Jordan Gray, Raven Gray, Jenna Carter, Ashlynn Vickers, Christian Beheler, Lindsay Watson, Leanna Briscoe and everybody else that contributed to what becomes East Rutherford’s first ever softball title.
They averaged over five runs per game in the playoffs and allowed just over three runs a game during that time.
It’s really great to see first year softball coach Laura Hopper Ray enjoy this moment. She led East deep into the playoffs while she was in high school as a pitcher, but never could get to the finals. Experienced coaches Julie Powell and Marty Hopper have been with the program for awhile. Powell, took over the program at one time, but stepped down as coach last season to stay as an assistant. Powell has coached everything from volleyball, to basketball and now softball at East. You can’t miss, Marty Hopper (the proud father of Laura) who is about a dedicated coach as you can get in this day in time. Between innings, you see him walk down the right field line and then walk back. Superstitious maybe, but he never has admitted that to me.
East Rutherford has now been crowned state champions seven times in the last 13 years in three different sports (5 baseball, 1 basketball and 1 softball).
Although, they had some trouble with errors in the championship series, solid fundamental defense and pitching can make a difference. Besides, when East Rutherford got a runner on the base path, they felt positive in bringing home the run. Four things that catch your attention with this club. One is just unselfishness. However, they see to win a game, that’s what they will do. Two, they make some great catches on defense. Third, Davis mixes her pitches extremely well. Lastly, they understand the fundamentals of the game.
This county has seen a number of solid softball teams, but the 2014 East Rutherford team tops them all. I have viewed sports throughout Rutherford County for 20-plus years and 10-plus on the media side of things.
There is only one softball team that even resembles the East softball team from the county. You have to go back 20 years when a Rutherfordton Little League team won the State Championship. That team in particular had a ton of power hitters, had a number of pitchers to rely on, but there is one main ingredient that both teams had in general. Anytime that team 20 years ago or East took the field this year, you just felt like they were going to win.
And I leave everybody with this thought, defending is a possibility. This club returns nearly everybody for the exception of two starters. Congratulations to the 2014 2A Softball State Champs: East Rutherford.
