Allentown 7, Lawrence 4 (High school Softball scores and results)

The Star Ledger, April 16, 2010 8:24 p.m.

By Andrew Borders

UPPER FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Carly Witkowski looked outstanding at times and hittable at others in the circle for the Allentown softball team yesterday. The key for the Redbirds this year will be which Witkowski they see more often.

Through the first three innings in yesterday’s 7-4 win over Lawrence, Witkowski didn’t let a Cardinal runner past first base, giving up just a single.

Thanks to lots of timely hitting, Witkowski survived rough fourth and seventh innings in a game Allentown never trailed.

In Witkowski’s sticking through the tough times, Allentown coach Bob Dubina hopes his sophomore pitcher has set an example for a group still gaining experience.

“She's going to have to continue to grow for us to get better because we're just so young,” Dubina said. “If we get down early, we kind of put our heads down and we expect (Dana) Sensi or (Kristin) Taft to pick us up.”

Both Sensi and Taft had big hits for the Redbirds, but so did several of their teammates. Allentown had five hits over the first three innings, getting a run in each at-bat.

After Witkowski allowed two runs in the top of the fourth, Bryanna Smith responded with a two-run triple for Allentown, getting back the three-run cushion at 5-2.

Allentown added two more in the fifth, highlighted by a leadoff blast from Sensi, and Witkowski almost needed those runs when running into some unexpected trouble in the seventh.

Four straight runners reached for Lawrence in the Cardinals’ last chance, and pitcher Kim Ragazzo brought home a pair with a double to cut it to 7-4. But with the tying run on deck and two out, Witkowski got the game-ending groundout to seal the win.

“We had faith in her,” Dubina said. “She knows, 'If I'm in trouble, we can bring somebody else in.' She wanted to finish it.”

The victory helped Allentown in an early-season logjam in the Colonial Valley Conference’s Patriot Division, where four teams entered the day within a game of first place and plenty of games still to play.

“That's the goal all the time,” Dubina said of chasing down a divisional crown. “We're kind of tradition-rich here with softball.”

The Redbirds had the fifth seed in last year’s NJSIAA Group II Central tournament and advanced to the sectional quarterfinal before losing to Raritan. Dubina aims for this season’s edition to sustain that level of success.

“Even though the freshmen don't understand it or really get it, they need to,” Dubina said. “And I think they're starting to get a little bit of it.”

Lawrence

Player AB R H RBI

Samantha Peralta 4 1 0 0

Nicole Defillipo 3 2 1 0

Kim Ragazzo 4 0 3 2

Lindsey Mills 4 0 0 0

Kelly Schillaber 3 1 0 0

Amanda Toto 3 0 2 1

Sydney Lipskind 3 0 2 1

Gia Scozzari 0 0 0 0

Kristen Albertson 3 0 0 0

Marissa Raimond 3 0 1 0

Lauren Immordino 0 0 0 0

Totals: 30 4 9 4

Allentown

Player AB R H RBI

Bryanna Smith 4 1 2 2

Kristina Kinsey 4 0 1 0

Kristin Taft 3 1 1 1

Dana Sensi 2 1 1 2

Maddie Brunck 3 0 0 0

Courtney Drennan 3 1 2 0

Valentina Esposito 0 1 0 0

Erin Drennan 3 1 2 1

Corryn Sargent 3 1 1 0

Carly Witkowski 2 0 0 0

Shannon Abbott 1 0 0 0

Totals: 28 7 10 6

Lawrence (3-4) 0 0 0 2 0 0 2

Allentown (4-3) 1 1 1 2 2 0 X

Errors - Lawrence 2 , Allentown 2.

2B - Lawrence: Kim Ragazzo. Allentown: Courtney Drennan , Erin Drennan.

3B - Allentown: Bryanna Smith Kristin Taft.

HR - Allentown: Dana Sensi