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Another big start
Pennsville LL Senior Softball All-Stars open the defense of their Section 4 title Monday by sweeping past a pair of opponents into the championship round
By Riverview Sports News
CAPE MAY COURTHOUSE – The Pennsville Little League’s Senior Softball All-Stars’ weather-delayed bid for another sectional title and trip to the state tournament got off to a big start Monday when they beat each of the other two teams in the field to move into the championship round.
The defending East Region champions opened their defense with a 7-2 win over Middle Twp. and completed the night’s sweep with a 14-0 rout of Monroe. Jess Bretz homered in each game and threw a five-inning no-hitter with 15 strikeouts in the nightcap.
Pennsville will await the winner of Tuesday’s elimination game between Middle and Monroe game in Wednesday’s 6 p.m. championship game. A second game will follow if necessary at 8 p.m.
“I think we played to our potential today,” Pennsville manager Chris Watson said. “Even the new girls made some good contact, bunted well and did their jobs in the field.”
Bretz gave Pennsville a 1-0 lead in the Middle Twp. game with a leadoff homer in the second inning. They added three more in the second on Avery Watson’s RBI double, an RBI single by Kylie Harris and a run-scoring error. Harris had a run-producing ground out in the fifth that made it 5-0.
Meanwhile, Savannah Palverento kept Middle off the board through the fifth inning, allowing only three hits in the stretch and getting some strong defense to allow her to face only one over the minimum. Middle scored its only two runs in the sixth.
“We had a couple incoming freshmen playing second all night,” Watson said. “Van (Savannah Guglielmo), for one, made a nice play to feed Avery with a double play ball and rifled a relay from right to catch a girl going for three.”
Bretz stole the show in the nightcap. She got all her outs via strikeout, faced six batters over the minimum and allowed only one runner past second base. Her grand slam in a seven-run fourth provided the exclamation point.
She threw three no-hitters through the state tournament during last year’s run to the World Series in Delaware..
“Our core returners led on the field and in the dugout,” Watson said. “Jess is a year older and it shows in how she carries herself. She was hearing a lot of noise from the opposing bleachers and she handled it like an adult. The grand slam was timely for that.”
Pennsville had only four hits in the nightcap – Bretz had two of them – but they had plenty of baserunners. They took advantage of five Monroe errors and 10 walks. Avery Watson drove in three runs in the game, two with a triple that made it 7-0 in the third inning.
SECTION 4 SENIOR SOFTBALL (At Middle Twp. LL) MONDAY’S GAMES G1: Pennsville 7, Middle/Dennis Twp. 2 G2: Pennsville 14, Monroe 0 TUESDAY’S GAME G3: Middle/Dennis vs. Monroe, 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY’S GAMES G4: Pennsville vs. Middle/Dennis-Monroe winner, 6 p.m. G5: If necessary, 8 p.m. (Winner to State Tournament at Dennis Twp. LL)
Riverview Sports News 