On Wednesday night, the #3 Cinnaminson Elite faced #4 Black Panthers for their debut in the South Jersey Collegiate Softball League playoffs.
Cinnaminson Elite won the game 14-13, improving their record for the season to 5-6-1 in their first playoff game.
The Panthers scored within their first two at-bats. The score was 8-0 at the end of the first inning in favor of the Panthers.
“We knew the Panthers were going to be a good-hitting team and they had a strong pitcher,” head coach Tracy Bart said.
Early in the game, Cinnaminson Elite made several errors in the field and struggled to hit the ball. The Panthers responded with more runs and had a lead of 13-0 in the third inning.
Rebecca Martino hit a homerun in the bottom of the third to put Cinnaminson Elite on the board, making the score 13-1.
With Rebecca Proctor on the mound, Cinnaminson Elite prevented the Panthers from scoring in the top of the fourth.
Payton MacNair scored the first run in the bottom of the fourth due to an RBI by Kelly Sigmund. Cinnaminson Elite scored 12 more runs that inning, making the score 14-13 in favor of Cinnaminson.
A highlight of the inning was Maddie Figiel’s at-bat with two outs against her team. Figiel hit the ball to the third baseman, whose throw was dropped by the first baseman, allowing Jess Ferris to come home for the tying run.
Sigmund then scored the eventual winning run after the Panthers catcher couldn’t corral a wild pitch.
“It was nice to see the girls make some solid contact,” Bart said. “They ran the bases well. Their pitch selection was good.”
During the top of the fifth, Cinnaminson Elite did not falter and forced three consecutive outs. Brenna MacNair ended the game with a grounder thrown to Sigmund to get the final out at first.
“The girls showed a lot of heart coming back,” Bart said.
Cinnaminson Elite will continue their playoff run on Sunday night. Their opponent has not been determined yet.
Elite will play at 6:30pm in their second playoff game. If they win, they turnaround and play again at 8:15pm for the league title.
Stay with Cinn City Sports for an update on the Elite team’s opponent in their second playoff game.
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