Kennedy softball off to great start
BY SHAWN LAYTON Staff Writer
The John F. Kennedy High School softball team split its two games over the weekend at the Red Devil Tournament in Reddington Township with a 2-0 win overManalapan followed by a 6- 1 loss to unbeaten Hunterdon Central.

Heather Corica started both games for Kennedy in the pitcher's circle and was relieved by Liz Kline in the win over Manalapan. In Kline's first appearance in the circle, she threw three scoreless innings to preserve the victory. Kennedy only managed three hits against Manalapan but took advantage of miscues to squeak out a pair of unearned runs.

In the loss to Hunterdon Central, Corica kept the Mustangs close until a 1-1 tie was broken in the sixth inning when Hunterdon Central scored five. A two-out, three-run homer was the big blow in the inning.

"Hunterdon Central is a very strong team," Kennedy head coach Nancy Cuntala said. "We played them well but had no answer for their big sixth inning."

The loss to Hunterdon Central dropped the Mustangs to 10-3 on the season with match-ups against some stiff competition on the horizon. This week Kennedy will square off against two more undefeated teams in North Hunterdon and Carteret. North Hunterdon pays a visit today at 3:45 p.m. The team will close the week on the road for a 3:45 p.m. meeting with Carteret on April 25.

Earlier last week the Mustangs picked up wins over North Brunswick, J.P. Stevens, and New Brunswick. A lone hit for Kennedy was the difference in a 1-0 win over North Brunswick. Corica's solo home run was the game-winner.

Against New Brunswick, Corica went 5- 5 while teammate Carly Jimenez drove in five runs off three hits. Kennedy's Jessica Tymitz knocked in three runs with a triple and home run in the team's 26-0 win.

The team's ninth win of the season came in a 4-1 win over Stevens. Corica was dominant fromthe pitching circle in the early innings and kept Stevens from getting clutch hits with the game in the balance.

"Stevens put runners on when they started getting some bunt hits," Cuntala said. "They were one hit away from being right there, but Heather did a good job of keeping them in check."

Jimenez led the offense with a pair of doubles and two runs. Teammate Nicole Claridge drove in two runs on a pair of singles.

"This was a nice win for us," Cuntala said. "Stevens is a good Red Division team, and it should give us some confidence heading into the second half of our own division schedule."

This week's rematch with Carteret is crucial for Kennedy to stay near the top of the White Division standings. In the first meeting between the two schools, Carteret won 2-1 in 11 innings despite a 24-strikeout performance from Kennedy's Corica.

"Our hitting has been very inconsistent," Cuntala said. "We'll need more consistency from our offense in order to knock off division opponents. We have a tough schedule ahead of us that does not allow us to look ahead and count on a win. We have to focus each game because we don't hit well enough to take opponents lightly."