Angela Christopher throws and hits Shore Regional to a win

By Walter J. O’Neill, Jr.

Angela Christopher has 120 career hits, 109 career runs and 99 career RBI’s. In the 12-0 win over Long Branch, she was the starting pitcher, only the second time this season in the circle.

Shore Regional High School girls’ varsity softball team is off to a red hot start this season. April 25, they hosted and beat Long Branch High School 12-0 in a nondivisional Shore Conference game.

It was also the day the team recognized their senior players. Aria Harkavy and Lily DiCianni are the two senior managers who were presented flowers by the coaches and players. Only two seniors are on the roster this season, Morgan Shaftel and Angela Christopher, both were honored by players, coaches and family.

“Great start for us so far this year. The team is off to a 9-3 start and currently sitting in second place in the C North division of the Shore Conference,” said David Porta, head coach at Shore. Manalapan is on top of the division, and they beat Shore back on April 16 in extra innings. “We get to avenge that loss and share the divisional lead with them on May 12.”

Porto said that Tte team is on fire offensively as eight of their nine starters are batting over .400. In 12 games, the Blue Devils have scored 150 runs and only given up 56. “Angela Christopher is leading the way with a .619 batting average to go with her 25 runs, 25 RBI, seven doubles, four triples and two home runs.”

Christopher has 120 career hits, 109 career runs and 99 career RBI, one away from that exclusive 100 club. “She is even more valuable to us in centerfield where she can track down every ball humanly possible to be caught,” said Porta. However, in the game against Long Branch, Christopher was given the ball and placed in the circle as the starting pitcher. “Today for our senior day, she displayed her versatility by pitching us to victory. There are special players, and there are players that completely change the game for a team, and Angela has been that type of player.” It was only the second time she pitched a game, and won both.

Starting pitcher for the Green Wave this season is Emily Rodriguez, a freshman.

The other senior leader for the Blue Devils Shaftel. “She has earned the nickname ‘The Ripper’ this year, as she has really upped her offensive game and is now batting .444,” added Porta. Shaftel is usually the designated hitter, but for the senior game, she got behind the plate and was the catcher for Christopher.

Long Branch, which is struggling this season, has made remarkable progress. Most times a team’s record does not truly reflect what the team has accomplished. That is the case with the Green Wave. They are currently 0-8, but have made big wins within the program.

“The first inning was a struggle. Our freshman pitcher, Emily Rodriguez, was having trouble with her footing on the mound. Every time she pitched, her front foot would slide forward as she was releasing the ball,” said Shawn O’Neill, head coach at Long Branch (no relation to this reporter). Rodriguez ended up walking six Blue Devils in that opening inning where Shore scored eight of their game-high 12 runs. “During that inning, I went out to check on her and the infielders joined me as well. We tried to fill in the hole to help give her more stability. After that she settled down and into her game.”

After giving up eight early runs, Long Branch could have given up. “We made it our goal to have a clean inning with minimal damage after that first inning. In the second we gave up zero runs, in the third only one run, and then in the fourth they scored three runs. The defense was solid today not committing any errors which was another positive accomplishment,” said O’Neill. Offensively, the Wave did fairly well with five hits and three walks. “We couldn’t put enough together to get some runs on the board.”

O’Neill said that Long Branch has one of the youngest teams in the school’s history, with four freshman starters and two sophomores making six of their nine underclassman. One, Rodriguez, is the pitcher and another freshman is the catcher, which is really awesome for the next four years working together. “We had so many freshman coming out this year which is a testament to the Middle School feeder program,” said O’Neill.

Long Branch like Shore has two senior players on the field. “We are led by our two-year captain, Jaidyn Turner. She always leads by example and keeps everyone laughing with her great nature. We are going to miss her next year,” added O’Neill. Turner is the leadoff hitter for the Green Wave and according to the coach, the best outfielder. “In today’s game against Shore, Jaidyn was in left field. We were thankful to have her there as she caught several popups and line drives. She saved us a ton of runs and that is something she has been doing for us since she was a freshman,” O’Neill said.

Porta also has some very talented players that are not seniors. “Olivia DeFonce, our starting left fielder, has a very strong arm. She is a returning 2nd Team All-Shore Player and is quickly approaching the 100 hit milestone herself, and she is only a junior,” said Porta. Her arm strength was evident in the fifth inning when Long Branch hit a deep ball near her. “She picked up the ball and showed her arm strength with an incredible throw to the plate getting the Long Branch player out and securing the shutout.”

Two underclassman for the Blue Devils who are making big impacts are Ayden Kampfy and Kelsey Orth. “Ayden is a powerhouse player who has played outfield, shortstop, second base and pitched. She is also leading the team in homeruns and currently has 13 as a sophomore,” Porta said. Orth, a sophomore, is playing in right for the Blue Devils. “She is currently batting .489 this year which is up from .475 as a freshman. She is half way to the 100-career-hit mark.”

And the biggest surprise for Porta is the catcher, Peyton Waterman. “Last year as a freshman, she batted .277 with just one extra base hit. This year she leads the team in batting average at .625 and has two doubles and three home runs,” Porta said.