Central softball pulls off road upset to advance to SCT Final Four: 'Huge for the school'

MIDDLETOWN -- Even as Middletown North and Central Regional were deadlocked in a scoreless tie for seven consecutive innings Monday, there was a fever pitch in the visiting dugout. Central had an unrelenting will that was demonstrated on the field and off it. Orchestrated chants supported its hitters even as more than a dozen strikeouts mounted for the visitors.

"Honestly, the cheering helps when I'm at bat and I hear them," said Central Regional's Ava Snover. "I know they're behind me no matter what happens. So I think that really helps all of us."

Central beat Middletown North 2-0 in extra innings - the 14th straight win for the Golden Eagles - to advance to the Shore Conference Tournament softball semifinals. It's just the second time Central has made the Final Four in coach Steve Stout's more than two decades at the helm of the program. And with that wealth of experience, Stout recognized the significance of the accomplishment.

"This is huge. This is huge for the town. This is huge for the school," Stout said. "The young girls that are coming up and wanting to play at Central softball. That's where they're leaving their legacy. They're leaving their mark, these girls right now. Super proud of what they're doing here."

Central players cheering for each other lifted Snover in the game's ultimate moment. With runners on first and third in the top of the eighth inning, she delivered a perfectly placed hit to score Jaelynn Witte. Isabella Flora followed that up with an RBI of her own to score Sianna Valverde.

The Golden Eagles (17-2) knew their break would come, they just had to outlast their opponent and the Lions' ace pitcher, Madi Boyce. They were able to do just that thanks to the elite performance of their own ace.

"I had to bring my 'A' game and as innings went by and we were keeping up with (Boyce)," said Central pitcher BethAnne Doderer. "I trust the girls behind me 100 percent, so that made it a lot easier. They were making their plays. And so I just kind of took a deep breath and took it one pitch at a time."

Doderer finished with 11 strikeouts while Boyce had 15, meaning that strikeouts comprised more than half of the game's 48 outs over eight innings. But ultimately, it was the camaraderie of the group that got them over the finish line and was the early catalyst for Central continuing an incredible win streak.

"We all just realized that this our last year playing together," said Snover. "So we're going to make it the best year we possibly can. And I think that goes with the cheering and everything. I think it was like our second game, we were like, guys let's just cheer like we used to when we were little kids. That was another turning moment for everyone."

'They've taken it one game at a time'

The battle of pitching aces was worthy of the top two public teams in the Shore. Central came into the game as a five-seed while Midd North (14-5) was a four-seed, the two highest ranked public teams. Although 18-seed Marlboro continued an incredible run of upsets to advance to the semifinals after beating Red Bank Catholic and Colts Neck - the Mustangs will face Donovan Catholic on the opposite side of the bracket.

The pitching duel dragged on without an official hit until the fourth inning, when Central broke through to put runners on first and second with just one out. But Boyce answered with two strikeouts to get out of the jam.

In the bottom half of the inning, Midd North was threatening with its own runners on first and second. The Eagles got out of the jam with an incredible double play, as a hit ball ricocheted off Doderer's glove and into the hands of of Flora, who then tagged second base to double up the runner.

After gaining the two run lead in the eighth and closing out the 2-0 win on a groundout, there appeared to be a cathartic reaction for the Eagles as they rushed the field. It's been a remarkable run for the team since losing the season opener to rival Southern and starting the season 3-2.

"We open up the first game of the season with a loss," Stout said. "The girls have stayed positive. They've worked hard and they've taken it one game at a time. And I think that's important."

What's next

Central will now have to go on the road as they aim to pull off the upset of all upsets against the Lancers, who are 19-1 and riding their own 15-game win streak. St. John Vianney rolled past Southern 8-0 in the semifinals on Wednesday.

The Eagles have been riding the wave of momentum for more than a month with letting their energy recede, and that is the foundation of their approach heading into the semifinals.

"We come out with just as much fire, just as much spark as we had in this eighth inning," said Snover of the matchup with SJV. "We just need to carry that energy into that game."

Doderer has been the backbone of the team with her 31 RBI and astute pitching and will certainly be key as well. The team has 10 shutout victories, more than half of their games, thanks to her 168 strikeouts and 1.27 ERA. But ultimately, the star senior knows that the team's togetherness will be the key to knocking off the powerhouse Lancers.

"Our energy just went crazy in the eighth inning," said Doderer. "We'll carry that same mentality to SJV because we know that they're very, very good."