And then there was one

It was utter carnage for our local teams Thursday in the state tournament, as three of the four remaining teams were beaten, with just one, North Hunterdon, left standing.

The Lions pulled off the most dramatic, unlikely, amazing comeback I have ever seen or heard of on a varsity softball field in my 10 years on the beat, as they overcame two separate five-run deficits, as well as a one-run hole in the ninth inning, to beat Bridgewater-Raritan 9-8 in nine innings.

This game was a total contrast of emotions for each team in both the outcome, as well as from the first half of the game to the second.

Bridgewater-Raritan came out firing against a rusty Jenna Gonzalez, who hadn’t pitched in over a week as she recovered from an allergic reaction. The Panthers clobbered the Lions ace for five runs in the first four innings to take a 5-0 lead, and after Blair Curzi doubled in a run in the bottom of the fourth, B-R made it 6-1 with a run in the top of the sixth.

Lauren Fitzsimmons, meanwhile, was cruising, retiring the first nine hitters she faced – including seven via strikeout – and did not allow a hit until Curzi’s double in the fourth.

North looked dejected, Gonzalez looked exhausted, and though Bridgewater-Raritan was probably counting the outs left until a sectional title, coach Sandy Baranowski said she kept looking at the scoreboard and thinking it was not enough runs.

She turned out to be a prophet.

Gonzalez settled down and the North bats finally got a bead on Fitzsimmons as they started making contact and strung together five straight hits in the bottom of the sixth inning – six overall – and scored four runs to cut the deficit to 6-5.

The Panthers added a run in the top of the seventh to take a 7-5 lead, but the Lions got two in the bottom of the frame to tie.

Bridgewater-Raritan scored a run in the top of the ninth, but North got two in the bottom of the frame to win it and capture its third straight sectional crown.

For North Hunterdon, it was an amazing, exhilarating, thrilling comeback. The Lions proved to be as resilient as any team can be at this level, doing to unthinkable in a sport where a game is often out of reach against a team like Bridgewater-Raritan and a pitcher like Fitzsimmons at 2-0 or 3-0 – especially at this stage of the season.

Not so Thursday. And it wasn’t Fitzsimmons’ or the Panthers’ fault. Them hits had eyes, so to speak, as seemingly ever ball North hit over the final few innings found a hole and very few were hit hard.

Gonzalez, meanwhile, did not relent, even though she was tagged for more runs in the first four innings Thursday than she had allowed in any one contest all season.

Congratulations, Lions. You definitely earned it.

For Bridgewater-Raritan, this is the kind of loss that can stay with you for a while. They don’t get much tougher than this.

But the Panthers cannot hang their heads. They had an amazing season and played a great game Thursday. It’s just one of those things that you can’t explain.

The universe works in mysterious ways, and Thursday’s game was as strange as they come.

I guess I had it backward when I anointed BR the team of destiny.

Still, I would like to offer my personal congratulations to the Panthers on a phenomenal season, especially coach Sandy Baranowski, who is one of my favorite coaches in any sport, as well as the senior class of the Bridgewater-Raritan High School softball team, led by tri-captains Sammy DeSimone, Lauren Fitzsimmons and Lindsay Durant (you’re right, you are “a beast!”).

It’s been a genuine pleasure covering the final two years of your varsity careers since my return to the beat last season, and I wish you the best in college.

The Panthers exemplify the true meaning of “team,” and they have done great honor to their uniform as well as the sport of softball.

For complete coverage of all three local sectional finals, as well as some of the other games from around the state, go the http://www.mycentraljersey.com/ or click HERE

Also, the latest BATS and BALLS podcast was recorded Thursday night, complete with in-depth coverage and analysis of North’s win, as well as Hunterdon Central’s 2-1 loss to Old Bridge in the CJ IV final.

Jerry Carino was there at Central on Thursday, and he and I both chimed in on what was a very questionable decision by Red Devils coach Pete Fick to start freshman Courtney Yard in the circle instead of undefeated senior right-hander Jenna Carmon.

The podcast should be up sometime Friday afternoon at http://www.mycentraljersey.com/.

I will link to it here when it’s up.

Elsewhere Thursday, Dunellen checked out of the state tournament in the CJ I final, getting blasted by Florence 10-0.

I can’t say I’m surprised.

Immaculata, meanwhile, saw its state tournament run come to an end with a 4-1 loss to Paramus Catholic. We touched on that game on the podcast, too.

Check out Tuesday’s Courier News for a preview of North’s state group semifinal game with Ridgewood, complete with my pick of the game.

That is all. Enjoy your weekend, I’ll be celebrating a birthday Saturday, so I know my weekend will be both celebratory and mournful as I watch my age tick up another notch.

I will be starting my All-Area calls Monday, so coaches, have those stats ready!