By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
TOMS RIVER — Sure, the Kingsway Regional High softball team could have smoothly entered the state playoffs with a shiny 20-0 record, and with a good chance of hoisting the Group 4 state championship trophy with an unbeaten mark in a few weeks, but coach Jill Ward and her Dragons are always up for any challenge.
Kingsway, ranked No. 2 in the state by nj.com, traveled 80 miles to Ocean County for a non-league showdown against No. 3 Donovan Catholic, suffering a 5-2 setback for its first loss of the season on Tuesday.
“That was a great game. I’m not upset in the slightest to play as well as we did against a team that good, it’s only going to prepare us for the postseason,” Ward said. “We weren’t chasing it (an undefeated record) by any stretch. Sometimes it’s a good thing to lose a game like this and turn it into knowing exactly what we need to do in the playoffs.”
With the game tied, 2-2, with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning, Donovan Catholic senior Sophia Senger hit a three-run home run to give the Griffins the walk off victory. The Griffins improved to 22-1, while Kingsway fell to 20-1.
“I’m stoked,” Senger said. “I’ve seen (Kingsway pitcher Jessica Pieters) all day and I was attacking her the best I could. I knew that I had to put it in play. It means everything. They’re a great team, and we’re a great team. It was two great teams against each other, and we had each other’s backs the whole time.”
Said longtime Donovan coach Debbie Schwartz, “that’s a great win for our program. Kingsway, we’ve been watching them all season. We played them last year, we played them the year before. We know what kind of players they have. They showed it today. Great pitching, great defensive and offensive opportunities, and they delivered.
“Jill Ward is unbelievable. We have a great relationship and we respect each other’s programs. She did us the favor of coming here this year because we had all these away games. They have a great team and they’re going to do great things.”
Despite the loss, there were positives to take away for Kingsway. Meghan Rigney, who doesn’t typically bat in the starting lineup, batted eighth and didn’t disappoint.
Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning, Rigney tripled and scored Laney Thorp to tie the game. Kingsway got on the board first when Olivia Sciulli scored on an error on a fly ball hit by Reese Whitzell.
“Yesterday in practice, we practiced the outside pitch and our approach, and I thought I did pretty well with it,” Rigney said. “Maybe (Ward) she noticed that. I saw the opportunity that was given today and I tried to take it to my best advantage.”
It was the first loss in 356 days for Kingsway, with its last setback coming to Egg Harbor Township in the sectional semifinals on May 29 of last year.
“We have a lot of respect for Donovan Catholic,” Ward said. “There’s nobody that thought we were going to come in here and roll. The program, the coach, they do everything right. We knew it would come down to hitting, honestly, because both teams are so defensively strong. It was just who was going to hit more at the end of the day.”
WHAT’S NEXT: Kingsway hosts Audubon on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Donovan Catholic hosts Livingston on Wednesday at 4p.m.
