IHA outlasts DePaul on frosh’s homer in the 9th by Greg Mattura of The Record
WASHINGTON TWP. – The crisp, loud crack of the bat signaled that freshman Ryleigh White’s line drive was headed over the fence.
White delivered game-ending drama in the bottom of the ninth inning with a home run to lift Immaculate Heart to 2-1 victory past fellow North Jersey power DePaul on Thursday in Big North United Division softball.
“I knew it was gone. You could just hear it,” said Olivia Sprofera, IHA’s All-State senior pitcher. “As soon as you heard that noise, you know it was going over.”
“You knew it was over as soon as the contact was there,” said Blue Eagles coach Diana Fasano. “She hit through the ball, and it was a bomb.”
White, batting eighth in the order, pulled a two-strike, inside fastball over the fence in left-center to give IHA, ranked No. 2 in The Record Top 25, the win over No. 3 DePaul.
“I just saw it coming in and I really just wanted to hit it for [Olivia], because she’s working so hard and I just wanted to do it for the team,” White said.
Sprofera was outstanding in the circle, tossing a five-hitter with 17 strikeouts. The left-hander struck out at least one batter in every inning, and she capped a 1-2-3 ninth with a strikeout.
“She was awesome,” said Fasano, whose team had lost twice over the weekend by the same score. “Olivia is hands-down one of the best in the state. She kept us in the game, and she does a great job when we need her.”
The Blue Eagles’ defense was as good as Sprofera’s pitching. The most notable play in the field for IHA (5-2) belonged to senior left fielder Ally Dudek, who opened the ninth by making a leaping grab of a hard liner.
“The defense is outstanding,” Fasano said. “When we’re struggling at the plate, it’s important to play defense to stay in games.”
DePaul (4-1) played almost as well and tied the score in the sixth. Senior leadoff hitter Amanda Ayala led off with a triple down the right-field line and scored easily on junior Kaitlin Cavanagh’s one-out sacrifice fly to center.
“We played a tough team tough,” DePaul coach Sue Parler said. “There’s always one pitch, one at-bat, one defensive play that you wish you could replay.
“But there’s certainly nothing to hang our heads about. We just can’t be satisfied with playing a tough team tough and losing in the bottom of the ninth. We have to come back the next time and play a tough team tough and say, ‘We’ve been there, done that, now let’s push the score to our side.’”
Immaculate Heart took a 1-0 lead in the fourth. Senior Reagan Jones singled up the middle – her 100th career hit – moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, moved to third on a grounder to the right side and scored on a wild pitch.
“We’re battling. We’re not firing on all cylinders yet.” Fasano said. “It’s OK. It’s still April. But this is a big one for us mentally. After losing 2-1 Saturday and Sunday, to come up big with a big hit is big for us.”