Delaney Cochrane has enjoyed some thrilling moments during her three years on the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North softball team, but none topped the achievements of this season.
“It’s been kind of exciting because we’ve done things we haven’t done in years prior,” said Cochrane, a senior. “We realize we don’t get another shot at this, we have to do it now.”
From beginning to end, Cochrane and the Knights enjoyed some landmark wins this year. It started in the first game of the season with a 7-5 win over rival High School South, their first win over their rivals in five years.
It continued with more competitive performances against Colonial Valley Conference powers like Robbinsville and Notre Dame, and a first-round win at the Mercer County Tournament to reach the quarterfinals.
WW-P North kept on winning to start the Central Jersey Group III with a thrilling 2-1 walk-off win over Jackson Liberty on May 18 (Cochrane had the game-winning walk-off hit over), and gave second-seeded Steinert a serious scare in a 3-2 loss in eight innings in the sectional quarterfinals on May 20.
“Beating South in one of our first games of the season—we hadn’t beaten them in any of the games we played in the last couple seasons—it was great,” Cochrane said. “We won our first game in the MCTs, which was great because we hadn’t gotten that far in the past couple of years since. And then we won our first state game and it’s the first time we did that, I think, in the last four years. I’m just excited that we’ve beaten or gotten really close to beating teams we haven’t been able to in past years.”
Things are looking up for WW-P North, which finished 13-9 this season. The Knights have just four seniors to replace, though between them they have a lot of experience. Natalie Everett has been on varsity for four years, but missed almost a month to start this season due to knee surgery. Natalie Bloom has been starting at second base for four years. Jackie Markisz has been a varsity outfielder for four years.
“The senior class has had a lot of leadership,” said Knights head coach Jason Petrone. “They’re all doing their part and hanging in there.”
Cochrane has been on varsity for three years. She has been on the long road back after suffering a career-changing shoulder injury as a freshman. It cost her months following her first year of high school and she struggled to adjust her throwing motion and deal with associated pain that came from compensating for her shoulder.
“I’d been having trouble with my throws the last couple years, but this year I finally figured it out,” Cochrane said. “Now when I throw it feels a lot better and it’s getting back to where it was before. And with hitting, I wasn’t able to swing the bat for about two months after the injury because I had to be in a sling for a couple weeks. I lost a little of my confidence at bat. That’s probably the most important thing when you’re up to bat. I feel like I’m finally starting to get it back and getting ready for college.”
“Delaney is constantly practicing,” Petrone said. “She’s her own toughest critic. She won the game against Jackson Liberty. We had a runner on third and she put it in play to win it. It’s nice for her to have that moment and not strike out or pop up. She got the job done.”
Cochrane will continue her career at Franklin and Marshall College. She said she is looking forward to joining a Franklin and Marshall team that was at the top of its conference this year.
“When I was a sophomore and junior, we had good seniors that were always super positive during games,” Cochrane said. “I don’t see a lot of differences this year. We just managed to pull through this year because we have a lot of close wins, and I do think we have a lot more energy in the dugout. I think everyone is more of friends with each other.”
Cochrane said that in previous years the teammates all got along, but the bonds are especially close this year.
“This year everyone is so friendly with each other and gets along so well,” she said. “Everyone respects each other. Everyone seems to know what to do and we execute a lot more plays this year than we have in previous years, in terms of bunting and plays for when we have a runner on first and third. We’ve been able to execute a lot more this year.”
Some of their younger players have made a big impact this year. The junior combination of pitcher McKenna Carpenter and Emily Garron has led the way defensively and made it easier to win games by limiting opposing team’s production.
“I’d say scoring runs is our biggest issue,” Petrone said. “Fortunately our pitcher takes the mound with a lot of help from our catcher and they hold teams down to low scoring. It’s really a matter of us trying to get a little more scoring.”
WW-P North was right there with Robbinsville in the MCT quarterfinals but fell, 1-0. They’d come through before in tight games, but didn’t do it that time.
“We’ve had our moments with some big wins,” Petrone said. “The girls like to make my heart pound out there. They don’t like to score runs until the seventh inning. I’m out there wondering where our offense is.”
The Knights are hopeful that this season will set them up for a future when they can compete with and knock off the best teams. The seniors have seen the rise of the program and will be leaving it in good shape.
“We have a pretty young team this year,” Petrone said. “A lot of the girls with the program take the game pretty seriously and play all year round. For the most part, our nucleus is young.”
WW-P North showed the potential to battle some of the top teams in the county. They are looking to build on their success this year.
“We’d like to be able to climb to that next level, the level of the four big teams that are a step above us—Ewing, Notre Dame, Steinert and Robbinsville,” Petrone said. “We haven’t quite got there. That’s the only way you’re going to raise your game to the next level and get the respect you want to earn is by beating one of those big four that are like a rung above us.”
Cochrane and her class can feel good about the way that they have finished their careers. The Knights are on track for even better years now after setting the bar higher in a successful season.
“We did as well as we expected to,” Cochrane said. “Our goals were to win the first county game and the first state game and get as far as we can in states. I think we’ve done pretty well.”
Outfielder Delaney Cochrane charges a ground ball during a 1-0 loss to Robbinsville in a Mercer County Tournament quarterfinal game on May 11, 2017 at Armstrong Field in Ewing. (Photo by Suzette J. Lucas.),
