Although players on this year’s Robbinsville High softball team graciously and dutifully answered tons of pre-season and early-season questions about how they could survive losing the best players in the school’s 10-year history, Hannah Olshevski admitted that they began to weary of the interrogation.
“Definitely,” said the standout junior pitcher following the NJSIAA Group II title game at Toms River North. “When we got interviewed at beginning of the season all the papers started with ‘They lost (Lauren) Fischer and Becca (Freeman),’ and we felt we needed to prove these people wrong. It bothered us and it motivated us a lot to get back to this game and prove we were as good as last year.”
They did that in a big way, finishing 26-4 and winning the Rancocas Valley, Mercer County and Central Jersey Group II tournament championships. Going against High Point’s Ally Frei, one of the top pitchers in state history, in the state final, the Ravens dropped a 2-1, eight-inning decision by allowing two unearned runs.
“They are a very good team, they proved that this year,” first-year coach Nikki Cognigni said. “They wanted to prove that because they knew that’s all everyone wanted to talk about, was the players they lost.”
“I’m so proud of this team,” senior third baseman Leanna Gearhart said. “No one expected us to get this far. I had so much faith in this team to begin with. Since we lost key players everyone counted us out already before the season started. The fact we came this far, I’m so proud of everyone.
“Almost every game it was mentioned in the newspaper that they’re gone. But we said it’s a new season, it’s completely different. We had the talent, we just said it’s a new season, let’s move on from last year.”
It’s easy to see why there may have been naysayers, as pitcher Fischer and catcher Freeman both went on to Division I schools after leading the Ravens to two state titles and three straight trips to the state finals. It was also easy to see why this year’s players were tired of hearing they had no chance, without even being given the opportunity to prove it.
Olshevski patiently waited her chance and took full advantage this year. The junior went 24-3 with a 0.78 ERA and 164 strikeouts in 189 innings. Olshevski walked a minuscule three batters all season.
“Hannah pitched phenomenal all year,” Gearhart said. “She was almost unstoppable. I was so proud of her for that.”
“I was so excited for this year,” Olshevski said after throwing a four-hitter against High Point. “I’ve been waiting to be in these situations for a really long time, and I can’t be any prouder of myself and the way my team backed me up. I’m proud of my teammates.”
She added that she did more than just sit and wait her first two years. She also gained an education during that time.
“I definitely learned a lot from Lauren,” Olshevski said. “She kept the energy up when you got down in a situation. She always wanted to get that next out and keep the pressure on the other batters. I learned that and not to lose my confidence in pressure situations.”
Olshevski was also one of the team’s top hitters with a .452 average and 28 RBI, and it was Gearhart who served as the catalyst out of the leadoff spot. The speedster hit .532 with five doubles, eight triples, a home run, 19 RBI, 27 stolen bases and 45 runs scored.
“I love Leanna,” Olshevski said. “She always wants to be the one to start up the energy, get things going. Everyone feeds off of that. She makes amazing plays in the field, she’s just an amazing player.”
And while one Cognigni is losing Gearhart, another is gaining her as Leanna is headed to the University of Delaware, where Nikki Cognigni’s sister is an assistant coach.
“It’s tough losing Leanna,” Cognigni said. “There are very few people out in the softball world like a Leanna Gearhart. So that’s gonna be tough.
“We’re losing our heart in the games. She’s the one who fights. She gets us back in games, she makes things happen. Losing her is tough.”
The Ravens will also graduate designated hitter Kaitlin Stahlbrand (.326) and leftfielder Julia Perhacs (.264).
Robbinsville set a tone in the second game of its season. After the Ravens led Steinert all game, the Spartans tied it 1-1 in the top of the seventh, then took a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth. But the Ravens came back with three in the bottom of the eighth to win it.
That was followed by a 9-1 loss at Toms River North, and the whispers started that the dynasty was over. Robbinsville responded with a 13-game winning streak that included winning the RV title with victories over Group IV schools Washington Township and Shawnee, a triumph over eventual Group I champ New Egypt and a win over the hosts.
Olshevski felt that is when Robbinsville knew for sure it was still a quality program.
“Last year we won it, this year we wanted to come back and win it again,” she said. “That proved to us we could do it and we’re still good.”
The Ravens later won the MCT title for the first time since 2011. Add that to a fourth straight Central Jersey championship, and Gearhart experienced a total of eight titles in county and state play.
“This has been amazing,” she said in the Toms River North parking lot, shortly after her career ended. “I had a great time, the program is phenomenal, the girls are great, and I just had a great time. It’s been amazing, to get to this point every year for four years. That just shows how great a program Robbinsville has. I hope they keep it up when I’m gone.”
There’s a good chance they will. A strong nucleus returns, including shortstop Megan Hevey (.310, 20 RBI, 19 runs), catcher Morgan Psiuk (.320, seven doubles, 14 RBI, 24 runs), centerfielder Sarah Motusesky (.370, 12 RBI, 21 runs) and rightfielder Gabby Manto (.247, three doubles, three triples, 19 runs).
“I’m really excited,” Olshevski said. “Obviously Leanna and Julia and Kaitlin are great players but we have a bunch of talent coming back next year. Our junior class is strong we have a ton of sophomores coming up to fill those spots we need so I’m really excited.”
Cognigni added that she, too, is optimistic about the future. And she will always look back on her first team with special fondness.
“I’m extremely proud, they fought all season long,” the coach said. “They came a long way. Everybody doubted them and they proved everybody wrong.”
Robbinsville High School softball pitcher Hannah Olshevski winds up during the Ravens’ 2-1 extra-inning loss to High Point in the state Group II championship game June 7, 2014 in Toms River. (Photo by Albert Rende.),
