Moorestown falls short in softball

Lauren Pfister's watery eyes were all anyone had to see to know how Moorestown did yesterday in the first round of the NJSIAA South Group 3 softball tournament.

Pfister, the Quakers' pitching ace, watched helplessly as Manchester Township's Lauren DeMauro struck out Catherine Duffin for the final out in the bottom of the eight inning for a 4-3 victory.

The ninth-seeded Hawks (10-11) are scheduled to play No. 1 Cumberland Regional tomorrow in a quarterfinal.

"This is heartbreaking because I've been wanting [a playoff victory] for four years, and this definitely was the year," said Pfister, a three-year varsity starter.

"Last year we were young" and didn't make the playoffs, Pfister said. "This year, we were used to each other, and we improved."

The Quakers improved but were not mistake-free.

The No. 8 Quakers (11-6) took an early lead, then watched it fade away slowly because of their mistakes.

Moorestown sophomore Sam Booth blasted a home run over the center-field fence in the bottom of the first inning to score Duffin from second base and give the Quakers a 3-1 lead.

In the third inning, Manchester's Cara Puzzio scored from second base on an error in center field to cut the deficit to 3-2. Then, Township's Marissa Ortiz scored from third base on a passed ball in the top of the fifth inning to tie the score, 3-3.

Cara Parliament scored the winning run on an infield sacrifice in the top of the eighth inning.

The top of the batting order came up for Moorestown in the bottom of the inning. The first two players grounded out before Duffin struck out.

"I think we got too confident and settled after that home run because we didn't score again," said Pfister, who will attend Philadelphia University next fall on a soccer scholarship.

"Defense has been our strength."

Not yesterday.

Township coach Mike Colombo said he was fortunate to get away with a win, especially after a long bus ride that had his team "sleepwalking" in the early innings.

DeMauro looked shaky in the first of couple innings but ended strong, yielding only three hits. The senior entered the game with an ERA just over 3.20, Colombo said.

Pfister's ERA was 1.58 before the game, said Moorestown coach Bill Mulvihill.

"I absolutely think we let one get away," Mulvihill said. "I've been preaching all year that you have to do the little things right, and defense is what held us together most of the year.

"Today, we made a couple mental mistakes, and it cost us."

Moorestown had two chances to score in the fifth inning, but one runner was tagged out at the plate and the other was caught on her way to third base.

"We had two girls in scoring position, and we made mental mistakes, and we're out of the inning," Mulvihill said.

Manchester Township 101 010 01 - 4 9 1

Moorestown 300 000 00 - 3 3 3

WP: Lauren DeMauro. LP: Lauren Pfister.

2B: MT-Marissa Ortiz. HR: M-Sam Booth.