In what could safely be called an environment of unbridled frenzy, two people managed to keep cool within it all.
Steinert’s softball team was on the verge of making history as Ellie Miller stood on second base, Bianca Walsh clung to first and Addison Hassan was at bat. There was one out in the bottom of the seventh of a 2-2 game with Randolph that would decide the NJSIAA Group III state champion.
The angst running through the crowd at Ivy Hill Park was of epic proportions. Both dugouts were squirming and screaming simultaneously. The Spartans had just scored two runs and had all the momentum before Hassan fell behind on the count 0-2.
Unknown to many, a few minutes earlier in the dugout assistant coach Carli Backlund heard Hassan say to her teammates: ‘I got this girls.’
She had one strike left to prove it.
“She stepped out of the box and she was getting all into it,” head coach Jenn Melker said.
Hassan took a ball, then stepped out again. She looked down at the third base coaching box and Melker gave her a wink. Hassan smiled and gave a head nod.
“The feeling I got was, ‘She’s gonna do it right here,’” the coach said. “The head nod and smile was like a ‘I gotcha coach,’ and I was like, ‘This is it.’ It was such a cool out-of-body-experience.”
The catcher had to remain in her body to hit, but the moment affected her as well.
“I’d seen the pitcher a few times and I felt really good, especially after Melker gave me that look and that smile,” Hassan said. “I knew she had confidence in me and it made me have confidence in myself.”
Hassan promptly slammed the next pitch for an RBI single to provide one of the most memorable victories in Steinert athletics history.
The win put a special group of Spartans into elite status of historical proportions, as they became:
* The first public school softball program to win three straight state titles (that mark was tied when Cedar Grove won Group I several hours later).
* The first Mercer County softball program to win three straight.
* The first Steinert girls program to claim three straight, and just the third program in school history along with boys soccer (1969-71) and baseball (1998-2000).
* Tied with Gloucester City and Bishop Eustace with six state titles, good for ninth place overall and third amongst public schools.
Melker, who is 29-3 in state games, has the second most state titles of any Steinert coach, behind legends Goose Laurenti, Paul Tessein and Rich Giallella (four each). It was all made possible by a seventh-inning rally that will rank among one of the greatest moments in the rich tradition of Steinert sports.
The Spartans (22-4) were having a frustrating day against Randolph. Their usually outstanding defense committed five errors, although senior pitcher Katie Simonka picked up her teammates by escaping several jams.
“In a high-pressure game like that, no one is gonna be perfect,” Simonka said. “I felt the pressure and I knew everyone around us felt the pressure. Mistakes are gonna happen. At the end of the day, as long as I’m doing everything I can do and they’re doing everything they can do, we’re gonna make it up. Having so much confidence in them is the key.”
Mia Pope could only shake her head in admiration of Simonka, who finished 12-0 in state games (3-0 in finals) with a 0.75 ERA and 104 strikeouts.
“She’s really amazing,” the junior shortstop said. “I give her so much credit. She’ll always believe in our defense no matter how many errors we have. She knows she has a good defense behind her. We have so much trust in her. She’s powerful with her attitude and the bond between us and her is amazing.”
Simonka’s efforts appeared to be for naught, as Steinert could not score despite six hits and three walks in the first six frames. The Spartans had specialized in the big inning throughout the states. This time, it just needed a medium inning.
With three outs left to make history, Melker huddled her team and advised that it let go of everything that had happened so far.
“I told them believe in each other, trust the person that’s up,” the coach said. “Don’t try to get the big hit. Make contact and just get one hit at a time and string them together.”
Simonka also had inspirational advice.
“It was an emotional moment, the last time being on the field with those girls,” she said. “I told them ‘This is our time to do it. There’s no better time for us to prove ourselves to everyone here.’”
Melker began the inning by pinch-hitting with her secret weapon, Victoria Poppert. The 9th-grader blasted a key pinch-double in the sectional semifinals against Northern Burlington and came through again with a rally-igniting double.
“Having a freshman go in there in such a crazy moment and hit an absolute bomb just fuels the whole team,” Simonka said. “Everyone was so happy for her. It just made everyone else want to build off something like that.”
Poppert was under orders to prepare for her opportunity.
“I told her, ‘You may get an at-bat the fifth, sixth or seventh, so I need you to stay ready,’” Melker said. “I told her ‘Keep paying attention to the pitcher, keep watching how she’s pitching, where she’s putting the ball. Stay on top of it. Don’t just sit and cheer. Stay focused.”
A strikeout followed the double but Pope strolled to the plate and promptly delivered an RBI single to score Gia DiMeglio (who was re-inserted for Poppert) to cap a 4-for-4 day. In six state games Pope went 13-for-22 with seven doubles, nine runs and four RBI.
“The bigger games, you’re obviously more focused,” the Marist commit said. “That’s when all your hard work pays off. In that moment I was more relaxed. I knew I had my team behind me and even if I didn’t get on, I have back-up in the rest of the lineup.”
To no one’s surprise, she delivered.
“She’s just pure talent,” Melker said. “As soon as I saw her walking up, I knew she’d get on base. If Mia could get that run in, there was no doubt we could win. That was all my girls needed, was Gia’s foot to touch that plate and for that run to go up on the board.”
Ellie Miller followed with a single to put runners at the corners. That brought up white hot Bianca Walsh, who was 11-for-17 in the first five state games but 0-for-3 in this one despite some hard hit balls.
“As their coach talked to their pitcher I was talking to Bianca and I said ‘What are you thinking?’” Melker said. “I told her ‘Just relax because when that ball touches the bat, no matter where it goes, Mia’s coming in. We have this, that’s all you need to know.’”
And Walsh’s response?
“She said, ‘OK,’”
The girl of few words spoke loudly with her bat by delivering an RBI single. Hassan then came up and “I just kind of felt the moment,” and a few minutes later the Spartans felt unbridled joy.
Melker’s reaction?
“I was mostly how in awe of them and how happy I was they could do that for each other,” she said. “The ability to bounce back and never give up on each other, it felt so good. I was so proud of them.”
Pope attributed the rally to her team’s mindset so she wasn’t overly surprised. But she was overjoyed.
“This was one of the greatest moments I experienced,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful thing to know what you can accomplish with a group of girls that become your family for three months. Getting to improve with them every day is a fun thing, and getting to go all the way three years in a row is amazing.”
For Simonka and Hassan, their four years featured four sectional titles, four trips to the state finals and three state crowns.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Hassan said of her heroics. “All the emotions of this being my last game and my last at-bat; winning three straight. If you would have told me we’d win three back-to-back I’d probably say you’re a little crazy. But with the team we have, I’m not surprised.”
It was a team built on pitching, defense and timely hitting. There were the senior stars like FDU commit Simonka (16-4, 1.39 ERA, 235 Ks), Stockton-bound Hassan (.403, 20 RBI) and Rowan recruit Gia DiMeglio (.265, 20 runs).
“They meant more than I can put in words,” Melker said. “Watching that dynamic of Katie and Addison in the circle and behind the plate was just unbelievable to be a part of. And Gia came up big in many situations with big hits or big plays.”
The talented junior class featured Pope (.503, 33 RBI, 36 runs), Walsh (.473, 29 RBI) and Miller (.392, 23 runs). Sophomore studs were Francesca Castellano (.308, 17 RBI), Aleiya O’Neal (.365, 17 runs), Danica Spak (.300, 11 runs) and Nikki Donovan (.350). Freshman Lindsey Siwczak crashed a veteran lineup as the starting designated player and hit .283 with 22 runs, while Poppert proved her worth off the bench.
But as Melker always points out, all 15 players contribute and she noted that senior Rosalie Horchuk (who was injured) and freshmen Aleena Eckel and Gabby Piscotta also made impacts in various ways.
It was a group that constantly had to deal with the pressure of a three-peat hanging over their heads.
“Our coach told us to let everyone else say that,” Pope said. “It’s obviously a big thing, we always had it in the back of our minds that we could make history but we knew we had to take it one game at a time and once the time comes – the state final – we leave it all out on the field.”
Simonka felt that, “having fun was a huge part of it. And Melker put together a difficult schedule so most every game felt like a state game. It created the pressure atmosphere all season, and freshmen who stepped up big and adjusted to it.”
The pressure isn’t going anywhere. With so much talent returning, talk of four-peat is already underway. Despite losing Simonka, Miller is a standout pitcher just waiting for her chance. Melker hinted that Castellano can go from first base back to her natural position of catcher but added that “I haven’t even had tryouts yet, so nothing is positive.”
Except Miller in the circle.
“Ellie is a crazy talented pitcher, she will be our ace,” Melker said. “I’m just as hopeful and excited about next year, honestly.”
As is her shortstop.
“It’s so exciting, it will be just like this year,” Pope said. “We’ll always think about it and once the time comes and once the season starts, that’s what we will focus on. It’s a great opportunity and we’ll work as best we can to accomplish our goals.”
Hassan stated: “They will still be a great team. They’ll continue this legacy.”
A legacy that Hassan made herself a huge part of with one swing of the bat.
Steinert High 2025 softball team, state champs for a third year running. (Photo by Amanda Ruch.),
