If anything, Morgan Comfort kept a sense of humor after the toughest loss of her multi-sport career.
“I’m happy that I can finally get these pants off,” Comfort said with a weak smile. “They’re too tight!”
She was speaking of her Steinert softball pants, which she and her fellow seniors wore with pride for the past four years and, in particular, for the past two.
But Comfort and her classmates weren’t really happy. Their careers came to a heart-breaking end on June 4, when South Plainfield scored a walk-off run on a groundball fielder’s choice that provided a 3-2 victory in the NJSIAA Group III championship game at Kean University.
Trailing 2-0, Steinert tied it in the top of the seventh when Alex Haley worked a one-out walk and Cora Bridgers singled. Both were pinch hitters. Taylor Hawkes then hit into a fielder’s choice that resulted in an error to let Haley score, and Kaylee Whittaker hit a two-out, RBI single after fouling off three straight 2-2 pitches in at-bat with more drama than a Spielberg movie.
“That just showed, we’re not going to give up, we’re not going to stop fighting until the very last out of the very last inning,” Comfort said. “That says a lot about the team character. We don’t let each other back down. We pick each other up when we’re down.”
Outfielder Courtney Danser added that, “The seventh inning we did so amazing. I’m so proud of everyone for not giving up. It would have been very easy to let them win. But I’m very proud of us for not doing that.”
Oddly enough, while the comeback was impressive, it made the loss even tougher to take after South Plainfield scratched out its run in the bottom of the inning. Three walks and a fielder’s choice to first allowed the winning run to score, shattering Steinert’s dreams of repeating as state champion.
“I think they had an awesome season,” coach Jean Ruppert said. “I’m really proud of them. It’s always tough to end your season on a loss, but they had a tremendous season and it was a great job by everybody.”
The Spartans’ six seniors amassed a four-year record of 84-24 with 15 state tournament wins, one state title, two state finals, two Central Jersey crowns and one trip to the Mercer County Tournament finals. They went 22-4 this year and 47-8 over the past two seasons.
The seniors included catcher Madison Balke, who will play at Division I Campbell next year; first baseman Kelly Keane, who will play at Suffolk; and Comfort, who will play at Ursinus. Going to college and not playing are Danser (University of Connecticut) and outfielder Cassidy Wood (The College of New Jersey), while third baseman Kasey Giordano is debating whether to play at Mercer.
“I’m just proud of how much we’ve grown since my freshman year,” said Danser, who hit .437 with 21 stolen bases from her leadoff spot. “I think we’ve only gotten better. This group of seniors has played together since we were eight years old and now that we’re finally parting ways it’s bittersweet but I’m just so proud of how much we’ve grown.”
Danser felt that one of the biggest changes in Steinert over her four years, was the chemistry developed by the team.
“I guess I could say we weren’t as close may freshman year as we were this year,” she said. “We didn’t have as good a chemistry but these past few years we’ve been just like a family. I wouldn’t trade them for anything and I think that’s one of the main things that contributed to our successes. We wouldn’t have been there without our chemistry. I’m most proud of winning it and then coming back here again this year. I think it’s pretty amazing.”
Ruppert felt her graduating class helped build upon the winning tradition Steinert has long had.
“They’ve been a part of two tournament runs and they’ve won some division titles,” she said “They provide great leadership, great work ethic in doing everything you can ask them to do. They’re an awesome group of seniors and they’ve established a good tradition for the next group to come in and do their thing.”
Comfort hit .419 this year with six extra base hits, 17 stolen bases and over 20 RBI, while Balke hit .392 with 15 extra base hits and over 20 RBI.
Asked what made her the proudest concerning this team and Comfort said, “Everything.”
“We grew so much,” she said. “To say you came to the state finals two years in a row, it’s unbelievable. I don’t think too many teams can say that. Yeah, we didn’t win today but we still got here and the way we got here, I’m just so proud of everybody who played.”
Since it was her last game of scholastic softball, Danser took time for a little soul searching.
“I’m just very proud of how much I’ve grown,” she said. “This sport has given me so much, and I’ll be so grateful to it forever.”
Ruppert said that not once this year did the Spartans feel they were entitled to another state crown, despite the fact they returned nearly every regular and their top pitcher in sophomore Kaylee Whittaker.
“We talked very early about it” the coach said. “We told them that ‘You are your own team, and what we did last year laid a great foundation but it doesn’t make the path easier. You have to work and earn every opportunity and do what you have to do.’
“That was our thing from the start. We changed up our uniform a little bit just to continue that theory of how they’re different. We put your name in there and play it the way you can play. I think this all was just a testament to their hard work and wanting to continue the tradition. I think we’re a pretty successful program for the most part, so I think that was established very early in their careers.”
And while Steinert is losing several of its top hitters, there are still some quality players returning that should keep the team competitive in 2018.
“I think they’ll be great again next year as long as they stay as close as we are now,” Danser said. “If they work as hard as we did, they can be back here again.”
Junior shortstop Carli Backlund led the team with a .473 average, four home runs, 13 extra base hits and 29 RBI. Junior Cora Bridgers swung a nice bat and is an outstanding No. 2 pitcher.
And then there’s Whittaker, who continued to be a big game pitcher as the South Plainfield game was her first loss in seven state tournament decisions.
“Kaylee is so amazing,” Danser said. “She stays so calm and positive no matter what, and she works so hard and it’s great being behind her. You can always count on her to get things done.”
Asked what she could say about Whittaker—who went 12-3 with an 0.59 ERA and 134 strikeouts in 102.1 innings pitched—and Comfort could only shake her head.
“What can I not say, to be honest,” she said. “I can say so much about her. She’s fantastic. For her age to be able to be so calm about everything. She has this can-do attitude and she just does it. I really can’t think of the right words to describe how good as she is. There’s no words to describe it at this point.”
There is a word to describe how Comfort felt about this season despite the tough loss: pride.
“I’m really proud of everybody,” she said. “Everybody gave their all this whole season and through everything. I’m never going to forget them.”
Nor should they be forgotten after all they accomplished.
Senior Courtney Danser advances on the basepaths during Steinert’s 3-2 loss in the state championship game June 4. (Photo by John Blaine.),
