Shelby Adamowsky, Theresa Demkovitz, Samantha Deck, Michaela Petito, Gabby Manto and Sara Motusesky cheer on their teammates during the top of the first inning of the Mercer County Tournament championship game against Allentown May 15, 2014 in Ewing. Robbinsville won, 3-2. (Staff photo by Rob Anthes.) Niki Cognigni stared at her team through a chain-link fence. Her Robbinsville High School softball team trailed Allentown by a run with two innings remaining in May 15’s Mercer County Tournament title game. The Ravens had mustered just three hits against Allentown pitcher Hayley Peterson, and made several uncharacteristic errors in the field. She needed to do something to shake her team awake. “This is what we play for,” the head coach shouted at her team. “Want to win!” Something must have clicked for the Ravens then, the muscle memory earned with years of practicing for and playing in big softball games. Suddenly, the team that had appeared stagnant came alive. The Ravens strung together timely hits, scoring a run each in the sixth and seventh innings. By the time tourney MVP Hannah Olshevski struck out an Allentown batter for the final out of the game, Robbinsville had not only seized the momentum from Allentown, but the county title, as well. Cognigni said later, in an interview, that she knew she had to reassure her team it could win. The Ravens had seen Peterson twice in the 2014 season prior to the MCT championship, and beat her soundly both times. It was simply a matter of the Ravens wanting to win so badly they had locked themselves up. “They know how to fight through adversity,” Cognigni said. “One of the things we’re still working on is to play the game and have fun. We had a few errors early on, and I think they can be attributed to nerves. Sometimes they think too much, and I tell them to slow the game down, just catch and throw. “But when the situation comes, they do know how to win.” That skill became apparent with two outs in the top of the sixth. Their team down to four outs at the plate, Morgan Psiuk, Kaitlin Stahlbrand and Julia Perhacs each hit singles. Perhacs’ hit allowed Psiuk to come home, tying the score at 2-2. Then, in the top of the seventh, the score still tied at 2, senior Leanna Gearhart led off with a single, and promptly stole second. She moved to third on Megan Hevey’s sacrifice, and scored when tourney MVP Hannah Olshevski delivered the game-winning single. Even when the hits were not coming early on, the Ravens tried what they could to manufacture a spark. In the top of the third inning, Gabby Manto reached base on an error, advanced to second on a Perhacs sacrifice and then went for home on a passed ball. Manto slid across the plate without a challenge, kicking up a cloud of dust and giving Robbinsville a 1-0 lead. Players in the Robbinsville dugout erupted into celebratory screams. “The game meant a lot to them,” Cognigni said. “This group of girls wanted to win the game. They wanted to get to the game and win it.” The county title meant so much to the Ravens because it would set them apart from others who have come through the Robbinsville softball factory. Many of the Ravens have had accomplished softball careers, winning titles and accolades since they started at Robbinsville Little League. But only the 2011 Robbinsville High team had ever won a county title before the 2014 squad came along. The members of this year’s team have lived in the shadow of acclaimed Robbinsville products like 2013 RHS alumni Lauren Fischer and Rebecca Freeman, who helped the Ravens to state titles in 2011 and 2013 and went on to play Division I softball. Fischer and Freeman were on the 2011 county championship team. But the duo lost in the MCT title game as juniors—to Allentown in 2012—and didn’t even make it that far as seniors. Cognigni said the 2014 county title proves to her players they have just as much star power as the township legends. “I’ve been telling them they’re not the 2013 team,” Cognigni said. “They’re the 2014 team. The team is a lot more than the girls that graduated last year, and they’re starting to realize that. They’re starting to make a name for themselves. I’m very proud of them.”
Shelby Adamowsky, Theresa Demkovitz, Samantha Deck, Michaela Petito, Gabby Manto and Sara Motusesky cheer on their teammates during the top of the first inning of the Mercer County Tournament championship game against Allentown May 15, 2014 in Ewing. Robbinsville won, 3-2. (Staff photo by Rob Anthes.),
