MSO Villagers U8 Softball Team Make Semi-Finals

This is only the second summer that Maplewood and South Orange has fielded a U8 softball team, but coaches Dave Carlson, Dave Ethan, John Hassler, and Lara Pennington have themselves one enthusiastic group of girls. With just five days notice, a coach in Woodbridge asked the U8 Villagers to fill an empty spot in his tournament on July 16 and 17. 

The coaches polled the team and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Twelve out of the 14 girls made themselves available on Saturday, and nine made it to the games on Sunday. Four families amended and even cancelled travel plans to allow their daughters to have another tournament experience this summer. “It is really fun to coach a group of young girls that are this excited about the game of softball,” said coach Lara Pennington. 

It turns out that all of the plan-changing and early morning drives up and down the Garden State Parkway were well worth it.  The girls played three games on Saturday to determine seeding for the Sunday elimination games.  They lost a tight first game 7-6 against the Cranford Gold team.  They played to an incredibly exciting 13-13 tie with the Carteret Kraze during the second game.  And the Villagers beat the Cranford Blue team 15-1 in the final game. 

Hudson Hassler, Paige Carlson, and Annie Turvey received MVP medals during each of the three Saturday games.  After being seeded fourth out of eight teams, the Villagers played an equally exciting rematch with the fifth seeded Carteret Kraze on Sunday morning.  The Villagers led going into the top of the sixth and final inning.  The Kraze scored three runs to tie the game.  In the bottom of the sixth inning Laura Brown hit a towering fly ball to left field that drove in the winning run.  All of the girls rushed the field to celebrate their win and their advance to the semi-finals. 

It was not just the MVP’s and the big hitters that contributed to the Villagers tournament success. Sunny Jo Kern gobbled up the ball at second base. Lucy Gagne made long, accurate throws from third base.  Alexa Stephan played shortstop and did a fabulous job cutting off throws from the outfield to save runs. Catcher Julia Ethan made great plays at the plate. Ameila Sherman ran several balls down in left field and got them back quickly to the infield. Quinn Joy had a couple of huge hits in key situations. Jessica Moskowitz fielded the ball very well at third base. And Kaylin Baugh showed great hustle by beating out throws to first base. 

The Villagers lost in the semi-final game against the first-seeded Howell team. Even that loss could not dampen their spirits though.  They are excited to play a scrimmage in Clark on the July 19 and in another tournament in Hazlet this coming weekend. 

Although the Hazlet tournament marks the end of their summer season, these young girls may not need to wait until Spring to play again. The MSO Softball Committee is looking into fielding its first U8 Fall Ball team, which would play a six-week season in Cranford from early September through the end of October. If Fall Ball gets off the ground, from the beginning of the recreational season in April to the end of the Fall season in October, these young girls will be playing the game they love for more than half the year. Their interest in the game at this age can only mean good things for the future of the MSO Softball Program.