By DAVE O’SULLIVAN
Staff Writer
X @GDsullysays
MARLTON — With the way the Cherokee High softball team has played in the month of May, it’s not surprising that the Chiefs believe they can compete with anybody in the South Jersey Group 4 tournament — even top-seeded Kingsway.
After going 7-7-1 through April, Cherokee has turned on the jets, winning eight of its last nine games, including a convincing win over rival Lenape in the opening round of the state playoffs on Wednesday. Typically when a No. 9 seed plays a No. 8 seed the game can go either way, but the eighth-seeded Chiefs took any doubt away early, rallying for four runs in the bottom of the first before cruising to an 8-2 victory. That puts them in the quarterfinals against No. 1 Kingsway on Tuesday.
A pair of sophomores have led the way, and they did it again vs. Lenape, as Allie Cunane drilled a three-run home run in the bottom of the third to extend the Chiefs’ lead to 7-0, and that was plenty for pitcher Cali Taylor, who struck out 13 and allowed just three hits to pick up the win. Taylor and Cunane — who also pitches — both have more than 100 strikeouts and a sub-3.00 ERA.
“We know Lenape well and I know Eric (Krastek) is a good coach, so I knew they would come in prepared. They are a team that can hit the ball. We just stressed that we had to do the fundamental things right and play like we did against them the first two games (both wins in early May). We’ve been playing well on the back stretch. We’re on fire. We’re finally in our groove and that’s a nice thing as a coach. These kids work hard every day, and they want it,” said Cherokee coach Mary Madgey. “We’re fortunate to have two very good sophomore pitchers. Allie held it down until Cali came back. I know I can rely on either of them. Cali pitched a gem today with 13 strikeouts. She’s been doing a great job for us and we’re lucky that we have two pitchers who can really control the game.”
“My rise ball and curve ball were working. It was an adrenaline game, everybody was making plays. It was everybody. Everybody was hitting the ball and making diving plays. I think it’s just the mental part of the game, you have to go into it like it’s any other game. You can’t pressure yourself. The more pressure you put on yourself, the more pitches you’ll be wild with,” Taylor said. “I have a phenomenal team behind me. They all support me, so I don’t really feel that much pressure. There was a little bit of pressure in that last inning with the bases loaded, but I had faith in the team behind me.”
Lenape’s Katie Vuong, the Indians’ leadoff batter, went 1-for-2 with a walk, a solo home run and two RBIs, but other than that Taylor shut the Indians (13-11, 7-4 Olympic American) down. The rest of the team went 1-for-23.
“Both our pitchers will thrive if we can get that early lead, and that’s something we’ve talked about,” Madgey said. “That can calm them down and help them focus on what they’re doing. That’s what we were looking for.”
That early lead came in the first inning as leadoff batter Jordan Hreben started things off with a single down the left-field line. Erinn Brogan followed suit and Ryleigh Lender chased them both home with a single to right to give Cherokee (15-8-1, 9-3 Olympic American) a 2-0 lead. The Chiefs also got an RBI groundout from Quinn Rosario and a run-scoring single by Cunane.
Madgey said Cherokee’s schedule in the Olympic Conference had the Chiefs well prepared for the state playoffs. Cherokee went 9-3 in one of the toughest divisions in South Jersey, winning the Olympic American title.
“The Olympic Conference is a battle. In any game, any team can beat any team and that’s what makes it difficult,” she said. “You’re always battling, but come playoff time you’re ready to play and compete against anyone. You can come back in games that you have to because you have that fight in you.”
Now the Chiefs face their toughest challenge of the season, going on the road to face a Kingsway team that has won 40 games the past two seasons, including beating Cherokee 9-3 in last year’s sectional title game.
“We talk about taking it game-by-game. We’re not looking ahead. We’re going to continue to play hard, that’s what we do. Good pitching, good defense, and we have to hit the ball. You never know,” Madgey said. “In softball, it’s all about one game and if you play well on a certain day you can beat any team. So, we’re just going to play our game and keep working hard.”
Added Taylor, “everyone is confident. We go into every game ready to do our thing. Everybody is so confident right now. Everybody is kind of just in their zone. We’re working together as best we can. We want to get to that championship game.”
WHAT’S NEXT: No. 8 Cherokee at No. 1 Kingsway in the South Jersey Group 4 quarterfinals on Tuesday, time TBD. Lenape’s season is complete.
Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sullyglorydays@gmail.com
