Garnets Softball Spoils Ponto's Gem

One hit.

That’s all the Haddon Heights softball team managed off West Deptford ace Sydney Ponto.

It was also all the Garnets would need.

Mariah Hans blasted a one-out triple in the bottom of the seventh inning that plated the game’s only run, as No. 3 Haddon Heights eliminated No. 6 West Deptford, 1-0, in the NJSIAA South Jersey, Group 2 quarterfinals.

Ponto was brilliant for the Eagles, pitching six and third hitless innings, but got tagged with the loss after the Eagles were unable to find a big hit against winning pitcher Shayla Sweeney.

“I couldn’t have asked for anything more (from Ponto),” West Deptford coach Amanda Schramm said. “If you can’t win a game with your pitcher shutting down Haddon Heights for seven innings, then you don’t deserve it. You can’t win a game without scoring runs. We had a couple of opportunities there and we just couldn’t get it done, but you can’t say enough about the way Sydney pitched. She shut them down.”

Ponto overpowered the Garnets with her fastball and mixed in an occasional changeup. She finished with 10 strikeouts and just three walks.

“My teammates told me it was the best game I pitched, so I guess it was,” Ponto said. “Going into the seventh inning I had the 3-4-5 hitters, so I knew it would be a challenge, but no one hit all game so I thought I would get through it. I was tired and it happens.”

After getting Sweeney to ground out to start the seventh, Ponto walked Mattie McCleery, who was replaced by Candice Smith. Hans was up next, and on a 3-2 count she blasted a fastball to deep left field over the head of the left fielder. The Eagles may have had a slight chance to get Smith at the plate, but the relay throw missed its target allowing the Garnets to celebrate at home plate.

Ponto could only shake her head and laugh after the game. No Haddon Heights player had even hit the ball out of the infield before Hans’ big swing.

“I really truly was just praying it didn’t go over,” Ponto said. “Anything would have been better than it going over.”

The Eagles had a couple of opportunities to get to Sweeney, but couldn’t get bunts down to move runners and failed to get two-out hits. The Eagles got one-out singles from Summer Wenzel and Katie Boyd in the second, but two groundouts ended the threat.

Then, in the top of the seventh, Marissa Linquist opened the inning by reaching second base on a throwing error. Linquist reached third with one out, but a failed bunt attempt and consecutive strikeouts left a goose egg on the scoreboard.

“I thought that was going to be it,” Schramm said of the opportunity. “We just couldn’t get the bunt down. We couldn’t get the bunt down, and that has been our weakness all year.”

“You can’t expect to win a game without hitting and scoring runs,” Ponto said. “We hit the ball, got on base and were in position, we just couldn’t finish.”

The loss continued a trend of dominance for the Garnets over the Eagles. In the past two seasons, Haddon Heights is 6-0 against West Deptford, including a pair of playoff wins. If there is any silver lining for the Eagles it is that their performance—or at least that of Ponto and the defense—was far superior to regular season meetings won by Haddon Heights, 9-1 and 3-1.

“This was by far the best game they have ever played as far as defense and keeping their heads in the game,” Schramm said. “I'm proud of the way we played."