Rega helps power South River softball past Dunellen
SOUTH RIVER — Anabella Almenas was her own worst enemy at times Monday, pitching herself into jams, then, with one exception, pitching herself out of them. Meanwhile, her batterymate, Reese Rega, provided all of the support she needed with three hits and five RBI as the South River High School softball team recorded a five-inning, 15-4 triumph over J. P.
Stevens. The victory keeps the Rams (13-3, 8-2) atop the heated Greater Middlesex Conference Blue-American Division race, with Dunellen and North Plainfield also sitting with two losses. South River spotted Dunellen 10 run in the first inning in a key divisional loss on Friday, but played with the lead Monday after scoring three runs of its own in the first inning.
Rega drove in two with a single up the middle and scored on Abby Helstowski’s infield hit. “That was something that was not like these girls this season,” South River coach Nicky Curran said of Friday’s awful start, which followed the team’s late arrival and abbreviated 10-minute warmup. “I commend their ability to keep going, especially with that bad loss on Friday.
” More: Softball roundup, daily April results, links, Skyland, GMC, area UCC Rega singled in two more runs in a five-run third inning and delivered her final RBI with a single in a six-run, fifth-inning outburst that brought the game to an early conclusion. J. P.
Stevens (7-8, 2-5) put a runner in scoring position in the first inning, then loaded the bases in the second and third, but came away empty each time. Almenas got the first outs in the second by strikeout and fanned the last two batters in the third. The senior ace was not as fortunate in the fourth as the Hawks put their first five batters on base on two walks, two singles and another walk, scoring four runs, two on bases-loaded walks.