ROBBINSVILLE – Friday night saw the Robbinsville Ravens softball team go up against the Steinert Spartans. The surprisingly chilly weather didn’t stop the Ravens, as they looked red hot.
The Ravens went to work right away in the top half of the first inning, grabbing three quick outs to retire the side. Their ace, Katie Ziliani, grabbed two outs for this inning.
The bottom half of the first inning proved to be great for Robbinsville, but troublesome for Steinert. A couple of infield errors from Steinert allowed Robbinsville to load the bases, with Caroline Walls, Ariana Tomlinson, and Sorella Gallucci each grabbing a hit to load the bases, setting up one of the defining moments of this game. Tuleen Ali stepped up to the plate, and crushed the ball over the centerfield fence after the first pitch of her at-bat, a grand slam allowing Robbinsville to take a commanding four run lead early on in the game. After this, Steinert got it together and were able to get out of the inning with no additional runs scored.
Robbinsville went back to the field in the top of the second, getting three quick outs courtesy of Katie Ziliani with a strikeout and Hailey Krebbs and Lucie Canuso each connecting with the first baseman Reagan Robinson to grab three quick outs to end the inning.
Steinert looked better in the bottom of the second, as they were able to escape the inning with no additional runs scored. Katie Simonka threw a backwards K to get the first out, with Ellie Miller catching a fly ball in left field for the second out. Simonka went to work again, throwing another strikeout to retire the side for Steinert to prevent the Ravens from increasing their lead.
Although Robbinsville had an amazing offensive first inning, this game was proving to be one of defense, as the Ravens were able to suppress Steinert again in the top of the third, with Katie Ziliani throwing two strikeouts and Sorella Gallucci making a nice play at third base to get the three outs needed.
Steinert went back to the field in the bottom of the third. Simonka threw two strikeouts and Riley Mikolajczak made a nice play at first base to secure three outs to prevent the Ravens from scoring more runs.
Steinert was able to put a run on the board in the top of the fourth. Ellie Miller hit got an RBI right up the third base line, allowing Mia Pope who drew a walk and was able to steal her way all the way to third base to come to home to put Steinert on the board. But, Ziliani made a play on a ground ball and connected with Robinson at first to retire the side for the Ravens before Steinert could add more runs on the board.
In the bottom half of the fourth inning, Addison Hassan, the catcher for Steinert made a nice play on a tipped fair ball that landed right in front of her to get the first out of the inning. Simonka made a nice play on a ball that bounced over her head and connected with Mikolajczak at first to get the second out of the inning. Caroline Walls was on first base for Robbinsville when she looked to steal second but left just a little bit early which resulted in the third and final out of the inning.
In the top of the fifth, Gallucci caught a fly ball at third for the first out of the inning for Robbinsville. Canuso then grabbed a ground ball to connect with Robinson at first to secure the second out. With a Steinert runner on second, Hailey Krebbs made a great play at short stop. She looked to field a grounder hit her way, but looking to make a play at first lost control of the ball for a moment, but then quickly spun around and connected with Gallucci at third base to tag the runner from second to get the third out of the inning. Robbinsville held on to their 4-1 lead.
The bottom half of the fifth inning saw Robbinsville hitting, looking to add insurance to their lead. Bianca Walsh made a nice play at second and threw to Mikolajczak at first to get the first out for Steinert. Simonka threw a backwards K for the second out of the inning. With two outs, Robbinsville’s Tuleen Ali crushed another ball to the outfield for a double. Reagan Robinson sent a ball to the outfield, with Mia Pope throwing it to Mikolajczak on first. However, she dropped the catch, but recovered nicely and was able to throw it to Aleiya O’Neal at third base to tag Ali for the third out of the inning.
With Robbinsville in the field for the top of the sixth, Gallucci made a nice play at third and threw it to Robinson at first for the first out of the inning. Canuso made a nice play for the second out when she fielded a grounder and connected with Krebbs at second base. Ava Aldarelli caught a fly ball in right field to get the third out of the inning.
Gia DiMeglio backed up to the fence to catch a well hit ball to get the first out of the bottom of the sixth inning for Steinert. Simonka fielded a grounder and connected with Mikolajczak at first to get the second out of the inning. With two runners on base, Robbinsville’s Caroline Walls got a double RBI, with a hit that went past the short stop, adding some insurance to their lead to put the Ravens up 6-1. Aliya O’Neal made a nice play at third with a throw to first to get the third out of the inning to prevent things from getting too out of hand.
With the home team Robbinsville up by five runs, the top of the seventh was the last chance Steinert had to put runs on the board to take the game. But, Canuso connected with Robinson at first to get the first out early in the inning. Krebbs made a nice play shortly after, fielding a grounder at short stop and throwing to first for the second out. With two outs, Krebbs caught a fly ball at short stop for the final out of the inning, and the game. Robbinsville emerged victorious 6-1.
After the game, WBCB interviewed the player of the game, Robbinsville’s catcher Tuleen Ali. She had a grand slam to score four of Robbinsville’s six runs, and a double. When asked what the key has been for Robbinsville to stay hot, she answered, “I feel like our team chemistry is really good. Everyone wants to win, everyone has that competitiveness in them. I feel like this is the year for us.”