Egg Harbor Township softball was tough to beat with Hunter Irvin inside the circle

By DAVE O’SULLIVAN Publisher The success of a high school softball team hinges so much on the starting pitcher. If you have one who can command the strike zone and get outs, you can win a lot of softball games. If you don’t, it’s going to be a long season. Egg Harbor Township had a long season in 2015 — because the Eagles kept winning. A big reason for their success was senior pitcher Hunter Irvin, who closed out her high school softball career with her best season yet inside the circle. The Eagles bowed out of the 2014 state playoffs much earlier than expected as upstart Atlantic City, the No. 16 seed, scored a shocking second-round upset at EHT. Irvin and her teammates weren’t about to let that happen again. EHT (19-4, 14-2) proved to be one of the best teams all year in the Cape-Atlantic League American Conference, finishing second behind Millville (20-6, 16-0), and beating Eastern Regional and Clearview in the sectional playoffs before falling to No. 2 Kingsway in the semis. “Building up from my freshman year we were kind of average, but this year was the best year for me as well as the team. It was a great way to end my career at EHT. It was good to go farther (in the playoffs) than we did last year. Everyone, obviously, wants to win the state championship. We came up a little bit short, but it was still a great season and I’m proud of my team even though we didn’t get the ultimate result that we wanted,” said Irvin, who plans to continue her career at Chestnut Hill College (Pa.) while studying criminal justice on a partial athletic and academic scholarship. Senior Hunter Irvin helped lead the Egg Harbor Township softball team to 19 wins and a berth in the South Jersey Group 4 semifinals this past season. (Glory Days Magazine photos/Dave O’Sullivan) “It’s been nice to see a kid grow up in the circle. Even as a freshman she contributed a lot to the EHT program. Physically she has grown and mentally you could see that she was capable of handling herself and controlling her emotions,” said Eagles coach Mary Dunlap. “She was a pitcher who wouldn’t let things get to her when we were behind or she didn’t get the calls that she wanted. That’s been probably one of her greatest strengths. I’m a firm believer that a pitcher can’t show any negative emotions on the mound and let the other team get the best of you, and she does a great job of that.” Everything came together for EHT this season, as Irvin matured into one of the top pitchers in the CAL and relied more heavily on one of the best defenses in the league. Players like third baseman Miranda Cincotti, first baseman Tori Szrom, center fielder Emily MacNeil, right fielder Sam Barone and catcher Kate Korte were not only the backbone of the defense, but made up one of the top offensive lineups in South Jersey. Having that kind of support, Irvin said, made her job as the team’s ace pitcher much easier. “It’s much easier for me to pitch when I know the players behind me are going to make the plays. That lets me pitch my game, when I know the girls behind me are going to do what they do best,” Irvin said. “I stopped worrying about how fast I was throwing and focused more on mixing up my pitches and speeds, and location as well.” “When she was younger — and I think a lot of pitchers go through this — they worry about their stats, because they all have aspirations of playing in college. Of course she did, too, but she was able to settle in and realize that she had a defense behind her that was going to support her and that was really nice to see,” Dunlap said. “She’s a quiet leader. She definitely leads by example. She is a kid who is very hard-working and she definitely matured. You could see from her sophomore year to her senior year she became more vocal. “One of the other things I really noticed about her during her junior and senior years is that she had more confidence and she learned to trust her teammates. Sometimes, as a pitcher, you get out there and you are wondering if they are going to make the play. But she knew she had a good team behind her, so that was nice for her. You could see the level of confidence she had.” Dunlap said what she will miss most about Irvin next year is Irvin’s ability to be motivated and focused on a daily basis. “I’m going to miss a kid like her because she is always ready to go. She’s a fierce competitor, and she’s a gamer,” Dunlap said. “It doesn’t take her much to get motivated to play. That is going to be one of the greatest struggles to replace her because she is always ready to go in a heartbeat.” Part of that competitive nature comes from trying to keep up with older sister Hadley, who was an accomplished rower on the EHT crew team and now rows for UMass. “In my eyes, I do kind of secretly compete with my sister. But I didn’t really feel a lot of pressure, I was just going out there and enjoying my last year,” Irvin said. Irvin said what she will most remember about her high school career is the bond she had with her teammates, and the support they all got from the coaching staff. “I don’t think it will ever sink in that it’s over, but (I will remember) the fact that our coaches always believed in us even when we didn’t. They had been drilling it into our heads since sophomore year that we could be state champions. Even though we didn’t reach that goal we had started to believe it,” Irvin said. “Some of our most fun moments were off the field, like the team dinners, and just hanging out with the team and enjoying my last year. Last year, we were a close team. I don’t really know what happened this year, but we seemed to have a bond that we never really had before. Every practice was fun, every game was fun, and I really enjoyed spending time with everyone because not only were they my teammates, those girls are some of my best friends. “I’ll remember the friendships I made with the people on the team and the bond we shared with our coaches.” Dunlap said she has no doubt Irvin is headed for success on the next level. “She’s intelligent and very conscientious about her grades, so I know she is going to do very well academically as well as athletically,” Dunlap said. “She knows you have to put the work in, and good things come to those who put the work in.” Contact Dave O’Sullivan: sully@acglorydays.com; on Twitter @GDsullysays [adsense]