By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
X @tortreports
NEWARK — On a day when South Jersey didn’t perform as many had hoped, Gloucester represented the region and the Lions’ faithful fan base by capturing the highest accomplishment the sport of softball has to offer.
Gloucester defeated Ramsey, 3-2, in the Group 2 state championship on Friday at Mike Sheppard Sr. Field in Ivy Hill Park, ending an emotional season for Gloucester as a whole.
The Lions’ spring sports programs have been playing with a little extra meaning and reason this season after tragic death struck just before the start of the campaign. The community lost baseball player Gage Myers, a 2023 graduate who was killed in a car accident in March. The baseball team dedicated its first sectional title victory in half a century to Myers last week, and now there’s even more to celebrate.
The softball team also lost one of its Lion-hearted fans, who passed away just prior to the season’s start.
“You see all the old guys that come out here to cheer us on? One of them passed away right before the season started,” Gloucester head coach Megan Mason said. “When I went to the viewing, I said we’re going to do it for you.”
Playing in front of one of the largest crowds on championship Saturday that made the 90-mile trek upstate, Mason held true to her word.
“This is so unreal,” senior pitcher Olivia Geroge said. “We played together, we played as a team. We flipped a switch halfway through the season and that’s what got us here.”
George continued her dominance in the circle, keeping a power-hitting Ramsey squad in check. She limited the Rams (26-4) to just four hits and two runs, which is even more impressive when you consider that they’ve outscored playoff opponents by a whopping 40-3 margin coming into the championship game.
Bailey Schoenfeldt continued to be the spark the Lions needed on offense. She recorded a hit and scored a run to give the Lions a 2-0 lead in the third inning. The star freshman also did an exceptional job at shortstop throughout, despite admitting she hasn’t seen much time at the position prior to this season.
“I’ve rarely played shortstop,” Schoenfedt explained. “Coming in as a freshman, coach Megan (Mason) wanted me to be a shortstop. I had to change to that, and I was very nervous. Honestly, stepping on to that field every single day, whether at practice or a game, I know we’re going to do great no matter what because of the girls I have behind me.”
Schoenfedt made an amazing diving catch on a line drive headed for center field to end the fourth inning. She caught a runner diving at home plate with a crucial toss to catcher Gabbie Maldonado just prior, in the third inning.
A two-out RBI single from Kaelyn Zearfoss in the fifth inning ended up being the decisive hit to extend Gloucester’s lead to 3-1. Ramsey added a run in the sixth and even had the tying run on second base with no outs in the seventh, but George once again ended any possible threat while securing the title.
“It was just another inning,” George said of taking the mound in the seventh. “Trust my defense, get three outs and we win the ball game.”
The ultimate goal was accomplished.
Gloucester earned the program’s fifth state title, and its first in Group 2 competition. It was the Lions’ first championship since 2009. They finished 21-5, streaking in their last eight games en route to the title.
“I really can’t believe that this just happened,” Mason said. “I’m just so happy for these girls. The turnout in the community, you see the support that we get every single day, every single game, I’m just so happy for everyone that’s involved. We rally around anything that we can. We play for each other, and we play for the town.”
