BOSTIC – East Rutherford showed here Saturday morning why it may well be set for a lengthy run in the state 2A softball playoffs.
Polk County showed why its future may be equally bright.
Capitalizing on Wolverine miscues and making few of its own, East Rutherford notched a 6-0 win over Polk County in second-round state playoff action in Bostic before a standing room-only crowd.
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The Cavaliers (22-2) earned their 20th straight win, scoring three runs in the second inning and three more in the sixth to snap Polk County’s 10-game winning streak and end the Wolverines’ season at 20-5.
But even down and seemingly out entering the final inning, Polk County refused to go quietly. Ashley Kropp singled sharply to center and Alexis McCraw followed with a single to left to give Polk County offensive hope. East Rutherford standout sophomore pitcher Savannah Davis, though, induced a ground ball for a double play and a strikeout to end the game.
East Rutherford players then took the field, lining up near second base, while Polk County’s roster did the same along the third-base line. Wolverine seniors Brittany Jones and Janada Carson took a farewell lap around the bases, a reminder of both what they’ve meant to the program and the fact that virtually the entire Wolverine squad will be back in 2015.
“We played hard. All I ask is that the girls never give up and not quit,” said Polk County head coach Jeff Wilson. “And we came out and had back-to-back hits to open the seventh inning.
“That’s a quality team. There’s no reason for us to hang our heads.”
East Rutherford got all the runs it would need in the second, a rough inning defensively for Polk County as the Cavaliers turned consecutive errors, and a single by Christian Beheler, into two runs and Beheler on third after another miscue. An infield hit by Davis brought home the third run of the inning and left Polk County in a 3-0 hole.
“We blew up and didn’t make the routine plays consistently,” Wilson said. “We made some good stands after we dug holes for ourselves and fought out way of of those.”
East narrowly added a run in the fifth, but Kinsley Jackson threw out a runner at home for the second straight game to keep the deficit at three. The Cavaliers, though, doubled their run total in the sixth, a Davis triple and Ashlyn Vickers double highlighting the outburst.
Davis struck out nine and scatted four hits, including Hayley Kropp’s double to open the game. Jones sacrified Kropp to third, but Davis got a ground ball and strikeout to escape the Wolverine threat. Polk County had just two more runners move into scoring position, Kassidy Reynolds moving to second on a walk and wild pitch in the fifth and then courtesy runner Katelyn Allison, in for Ashley Kropp, moving to third with two outs in the seventh.
“East Rutherford deserved to win,” Wilson said. “We didn’t score, so it didn’t matter if we had kept it to a 1-0 game.
“It’s heartbreaking, especially when we feel like we’re as good a team as they are. I’ll sleep good tonight because they gave me everything they had. We finished up 20-5, and that’s a pretty good year.”
