The Park Ridge softball team is used to scoring a lot of runs. But this was just ridiculous.
PHOTO CREDIT: KEVIN RILEY
Historic, too.
The Owls beat Old Tappan, 18-16, on Saturday in the opening round of the Bergen County tournament. The 34 combined runs makes this the highest scoring game in the 38-year history of the tournament.
“I told [them] right when it ended, ‘Well, we won another football game, girls,’ ” Park Ridge coach Cindy Turner joked. “I’m really proud of this team. They did an excellent job of just hanging in there.”
It didn’t really feel like a softball game — more like a marathon. And a dramatic one at that.
The game took more than 2 hours, 30 minutes to complete and there were 100 at-bats — 50 for each team.
After two innings, the teams were tied at a paltry 1-1. From then on, each scored at least two runs in every turn at bat. And thus, no lead ever felt safe. No. 18 Park Ridge led after scoring four runs in the fourth inning. No. 15 Old Tappan led after scoring six runs in the fifth. And Park Ridge finally took the lead, for good, with five in the sixth.
Old Tappan scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh, and had the winning run on first base. But Samantha Vradenburg came in to get the final two outs — which included a spectacular catch in the pitching circle — and seal the win. The Owls will face No. 2 Immaculate Heart in the round of 16 on Saturday.
Senior Cailyn Lavender went 4-for-5 with six RBI and a double, and Kelsey Wimmershoff finished 4-for-5 with five RBI and two triples. Mary Wiley led Old Tappan with four RBI, a double and a triple.
It was a whirlwind day as the teams shattered the scoring record of 29 runs (Indian Hills beat Emerson, 17-12, in 1977).
But what’s harder to believe is what the score could have been — each team left 13 runners on base.
From The Record
Recent Comments