Hammonton High School stays unbeaten
ATLANTIC CITY—A 13-0 win at Atlantic City kept Hammonton High School’s softball team undefeated and clinched the Cape Atlantic League United Division title, the Blue Devils first since returning to the league this season.
“We’re playing very well, above our expectations to be honest. The girls have worked very hard and they deserve it [the title],” Hammonton coach Eric Shulman said.
The victory capped a week that also saw Hammonton post wins against Absegami and Holy Spirit.
Hammonton opened last week with an 11-1 win against Absegami on “Senior Day.”
One of the Blue Devil’s seniors, pitcher Makenzie Edwards, tossed a 1-hitter, striking out 10.
The Devils took control in the bottom of the second, sending 13 batters to the plate, scoring eight runs.
Senior Lilly Miller started the rally with a one-out single, and Victoria Esau followed with an RBI double. That began a stretch of nine-straight hits for Hammonton, which included home runs from Krista Tzaferos and Ava Divello, as well as a two-run double off the bat of Alexa Panagopoylos.
Hammonton sealed the win in the fourth, when Jadyn Barker’s inside-the-park home run scored two runs and an error led to another that gave the Devils a 10-run lead.
“We’ve got such a deep lineup that I don’t worry too much about us scoring runs. Thankfully, we’ve been able to hit the ball very well all season. Coach Frank [LaSasso] works hard with our hitters and they’ve listened to him and it translates when they’re at bat. Hopefully, we can keep it going the rest of the season,” Shulman said.
Hammonton’s hitters carried the momentum into their next game, a 16-0 win at Holy Spirit.
Four runs in the first and six more in the second sparked the win for the Blue Devils.
Ava Livingston had three hits and two RBIs, while Tzaferos doubled in a pair of runs and Divello went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs. Riley Lancaster had two hits and Jolina Balinsky drove in a run for Hammonton.
Earlier this week, Hammonton hosted Mainland, but that game ended too late for this edition. On May 28, the Blue Devils will take on Ocean City at 4 p.m. at Hammonton Lake Park as part of a softball-baseball doubleheader to benefit the first annual Fight Like Frankie event.