Staff Report
There’s a reason the Rancocas Valley High softball team has 16 wins and an Olympic Conference American Division title this spring. The Red Devils have athletes all over the field.
One player who has been really impressive this season is junior outfielder Ava Sweet. She leads the team in doubles, triples, home runs, runs scored and RBIs, and is batting a team-best .578.
It’s crazy how good — and consistent — Sweet has been all year long, as only three teams have managed to hold her hitless the entire season, and one of them was Donovan Catholic, which was the No. 1 team in the state when the Red Devils played them a few weeks ago at the Hammonton Invitational. And, even in those two other games when she went hitless, she combined for two runs and an RBI.
Sweet has had 12 multi-hit games and she’s produced at least one RBI in 14 of the Red Devils’ 22 games. For her career, Sweet already has 95 hits, 73 runs scored, 66 RBIs, 15 home runs, 30 walks and is hitting .463. She’s increased her production in nearly every offensive category in each of her three varsity seasons.
She’s also an outstanding wrestler, having just missed out on a trip to the state championships in the 145-pound bracket. She made it to the consolation semifinals of the regional tournament before being stopped by Holy Spirit’s Kylee Gaddy.
Rancocas Valley, winner of six of its last eight games, should be a relatively high seed in the upcoming South Jersey Group 4 tournament, and if the Red Devils make any kind of postseason run it’s likely that Ava Sweet will be a big part of it.
— Dave O’Sullivan, Staff Writer
