Steinert to face Roxbury at Seton Hall for state title
With a fourth state final appearance in the last six seasons now assured, it’s time to see if the Steinert High School softball team can win a third state championship during that span.
In a game scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start on Saturday at Ivy Hill Park at Seton Hall University, Steinert (21-4) will take on Roxbury (234) in the Group III championship.
Should it win, Steinert will advance to the Tournament of Champions, which gets underway Tuesday and is being held for the final time. In a switch from past seasons, the first two rounds of the TOC will be played at the higher seeds before the championship game is held the following Friday at Ivy Hill Park.
Steinert is shooting for a fourth state championship in program history. The last one was in 2018 when the Spartans also won the TOC. Roxbury has one state title to its credit and that came back in 1992 when it was in Group IV.
Both teams are coming off scintillating semifinal victories that could have gone either way.
In Steinert’s case, it defeated South Jersey champion Burlington Township, 4-2, when Gia DiMeglia hit a three-run walk-off homer with two outs in the seventh inning. Roxbury, meanwhile, is coming off a 2-1 triumph over Nutley in 13 innings.
The runner-up in this year’s Morris County Tournament, Roxbury appears to have a power pitcher in sophomore Hailey Errichiello. She has 224 strikeouts in 130 innings and has allowed just 43 hits and 10 runs.
The Gaels have had a big year at the plate as well. Senior Cameron Fehsal leads the team with 40 hits in 97 at bats. Junior and younger sister Kendall Fehsal (four home runs) is right behind her with 39 hits and has driven in 25 runs.
The most dangerous hitter of all, however, in the Roxbury lineup is senior Maddy Svenningsen, who has smashed an impressive 10 home runs while driving in a teamhigh 31 runs. Obviously, Steinert will want to pitch carefully to her.
There’s balance as well with Jayden Pennella, Errichiello and Lia Milson all having at least 24 hits on the year. It appears Roxbury does not run a lot, although Kendall Fehsal has 27 stolen bases.
This year’s Colonial Valley Conference division and Mercer County Tournament champion, Steinert will counter with junior pitcher Isabella Bonacci and a lineup that packs plenty of punch.
Bonacci has 131 strikeouts in 108 innings and has yielded 81 hits and allowed 23 earned runs. While those numbers don’t match the Roxbury pitcher, keep in mind Steinert plays a very good schedule and is part of what is clearly one of the premier leagues in the state.
Shortstop and No. 2 batter Avery Kontura leads Steinert in hits (34), runs scored (35) and RBIs (34). Batting behind here is hard-hitting Ceara O’Neal, who has 32 hits and 29 RBIs. Of those 32 hits, 11 are for extra bases.
Bonacci is a productive clean-up batter with 28 hits, five doubles, four homers and 24 RBIs. Behind her is Paige Schultz, who leads the team with five home runs and has 32 hits.
Steinert is another team that does not run a lot, but there is some speed if it is forced to go to a short game. Makenna Spak bats leadoff and has 29 hits along with 15 stolen bases.
Steinert is young with just three
senior starters, but is also part of a program that has much more recent big-game experience than Roxbury. This helps allow the Spartans to play with the confidence they will somehow get the job done.
If the Roxbury pitcher is as good as her stats, this shapes up as a real battle. If the Spartan hitters can time her by the middle innings, they could be tough to stop.