By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
X @GDsullysays
There’s a standard of excellence that the Egg Harbor Township High softball team has always strived to achieve, under former coach Mary Dunlap and current skipper Kristi Troster. Going back to the Eagles’ state championship in 2017 — and even well before that — EHT has been one of the top softball programs, not only in South Jersey, but the state.
This is a team that’s not used to rebuilding, but simply reloading. But this year was a little different, as the Eagles lost a huge chunk of their offense with the 2023 graduations of Madison Biddle, Natalia Stewart and Annaliese Valentino, who combined for 72 hits, 52 runs and 41 RBIs last spring.
There are a lot of new faces this season, and it’s taken the Eagles a while to round into form.
They picked the perfect time to get hot, however, as they’ve ripped off seven wins in their last nine games after suffering through a rare three-game losing streak in the middle of the season. They also did things that show the growth of a team — being able to beat teams on the road, and teams that they’ve already lost to earlier in the season.
In early April, EHT got blanked 7-0 by St. Joseph Academy. They lost again, 1-0, to the Wildcats in early May. The Eagles lost twice during the regular season to Vineland. But during the Cape-Atlantic League Tournament, the two-time defending champion Eagles showed they are still the team to beat in the league, as they rolled Vineland 8-0 in the semifinals and then outlasted St. Joseph Academy and star pitcher Ava Fisher, 1-0, in the championship game. EHT, the No. 5 seed in the six-team tournament, had just two hits and struck out 14 times, but somehow found a way to scratch a run across to win the title.
“We’ve had some ups and downs throughout the season. If you asked me at a different time, I could have felt differently (about being able to win the CAL). But based on how we have really come together over the last few weeks, no, the outcome of the tournament did not surprise me in any way,” Troster said. “My kids handled the underdog role pretty well, I’ll give it to them for that. They went on the road and beat a good Vineland team, and St. Joe’s is certainly not a bad team, so to go on the road and win every game that they had to win, they did a pretty good job.
“(Our seed) was deserved. We lost games that we shouldn’t have lost, we had a bad day against Vineland the first time, and that’s how that happens. We are just blessed that we are in a division (the selection committee) really respects. There is a lot of talent there. We usually get at least three teams from (the CAL American Division) that go into the tournament to start with.”
Now EHT turns its attention to the South Jersey Group 4 tournament, where the Eagles are a No. 4 seed and on the same side of the bracket as top-seeded Kingsway and some other tough teams, like Lenape, Cherokee and Southern Regional. Vineland lurks on the other side of the bracket as the No. 2 seed.
Can EHT compete for the sectional title? Absolutely, especially with the way senior Madison Dollard has been pitching. In high school softball it’s all about pitching, and EHT has one of the state’s best. Dollard has allowed just 23 earned runs in 141 innings (1.14 ERA) and has fanned 236 while walking just 30. In her last eight starts she’s thrown five shutouts, and in two other games allowed just one run. She’s allowed two runs or fewer 16 times this season.
“It definitely does (give us confidence),” Troster said of winning the CAL Tournament title. “I think some of the younger kids, it’s their first full year of varsity and I think they’re finally starting to realize what this program is about. And to come away with the win — Fisher has done a remarkable job from last season to now, and even from the first time we saw her to now. I don’t know that we’re going to face a tougher pitcher (in the state playoffs). We battled, we moved some people around the bases and got the job done. I think it’s a big deal moving forward, not cracking like that in a game where the first mistake is probably going to be the one that wins the game for the other team. Making sure that wasn’t us, that’s a big deal.”
WHAT’S NEXT: No. 4 EHT hosts No. 13 Atlantic Tech in the opening round of the South Jersey Group 4 playoffs, today at 4 p.m.
SJG4 At A Glance
Top seed: Kingsway (21-2, only losses are to Notre Dame and Donovan Catholic. Dragons have won five straight and 9-of-10)
Teams to watch: Eastern (Vikings are a No. 6 seed but have one of the state’s best pitchers in Sam Wakeley, who has more than 300 strikeouts this season). Cherokee (the Chiefs have another star inside the circle in sophomore Cali Taylor, who has thrown three shutouts in her last five games). Southern Regional (the No. 5 seeded Rams have a potent offense, as they’ve rapped out more than 250 hits this season, including 52 doubles, and have scored 187 runs. They have four players with 30-plus hits).
