By BRIAN TORTELLA
Correspondent
On X @tortreports
MULLICA HILL — It was quite the evening for the Gloucester County Institute of Technology softball team on Tuesday.
Not only did senior pitcher Aubrey Miller record her 400th career strikeout, but the bats were also hot as three different home run hitters led the Cheetahs to a 14-3 win over Clearview.
It was a special night for Miller. The Lander University (S.C.) commit fanned eight batters while allowing two walks and four hits in the outing.
“I’m feeling great,” Miller said of the milestone. “I came into this game knowing that I was going to hit 400, because I had 397. This season has been great. I love my teammates, they’ve all been very loud and supportive along with my new coach (Jamie Minix).”
In an eventful last couple of weeks, Miller also reached the 100th hit of her career in a 4-3 loss to Delsea Regional on April 22.
“I’m not surprised,” coach Minix said, referring to the strikeout milestone. “She is our workhorse and our leader on the team.”
Although quite the milestone game for the star pitcher, three other Cheetahs — including two underclassmen — each hit their first career home runs. Freshman Cameryn Hilliard drove in two runners on two hits, including a homer, while also scoring three runs.
“As a freshman it feels great to hit a home run because it sets the tone for the future and what is to come later,” Hilliard said. “For the season, moving forward, I plan to keep working hard, cheering on my teammates and playing as best as I can.”
Sophomore Ashley Vossenberg, who rotates between JV and varsity, got four opportunities to perform at the plate on Tuesday, and she did not disappoint. She went 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Senior Alexis Monroe also added a dinger for GCIT.
Vossenberg said she was thrilled by the best performance of her career so far, and hopes to continue seeing more of the varsity field.
“Getting my first career home run means a lot to me because of how hard I work off the field,” Vossenberg said. “I’ve been hitting the gym almost every other day, going to hitting and pitching lessons, and working with my travel team all winter. Hitting a home run proves that hard work will pay off when it is your time to shine.
“Moving from JV to varsity every other game can be a challenge because the atmospheres are completely different,” she added. “By hitting the homer and having multiple hits to support the varsity team, I feel that I’m proving that I have what it takes to compete at the varsity level. I love playing with both the varsity and JV girls because everyone puts the work in and supports each other.”
With several milestones reached, it was certainly a game to remember for Minix, who previously served as the head coach at Highland Regional.
Said Minix,“we just played Clearview on Friday. We played a different game today than we did a few days ago (a 16-11 GCIT win). We came out on fire. This was a 4-3 game (in the third inning) and I said to the girls, ‘hey, you have to close this down. You can’t leave the door open for them.’ We put a couple more runs up in each inning, and I always tell them ‘when you leave a game close, you put the pressure on yourself instead of taking control of the game and scoring the runs. That way you can play a little more relaxed out there and play for outs.’ The three home runs fired me up. Especially coming out of a freshman and a sophomore.”
What definitely should fire Minix up is the fact that her Cheetahs are squarely in the playoff mix as the seventh seed in South Jersey Group 4 with an overall 8-5 record.
WHAT’S NEXT: Clearview (5-6, 2-3 Tri-County Royal) travels to Highland on Wednesday at 4 p.m. Gloucester Tech (8-5, 5-1 Tri-County Royal) heads to Triton on Thursday at 3:45 p.m.
