HOUNDS LOSE HOME OPENER TO HUNTERTON CENTRAL

NBC opened the season at home against perennial power Hunterdon Central. The sun was out but Saturdays temperature of 71 degrees were a thing of the past as the needle registered just north of 50 degrees. The Red Devils are a Group IV school with a history of success in the past. The hounds had a lot of publicity recently touting them as a power to be reckoned with. The matchup was an early test to how good these dawgs were. The early innings proved that both teams were poised for a tight game. After Hunterdon had a runner on base in the first, Arch stuck out the next two batters to end the first. Nicole Bondoc, the speedy leadoff hitter for the yappers worked a walk and stole second and third but was not able to score in the first. Both hurlers seemed in command for the next several innings as strikeouts continued to register for both teams. In the fourth inning with one out Hunterdon broke through on the score board with a run on a homerun. The hounds threatened several times after staring at a 1-0 deficit but were not able to crack through. In the fifth Riley Gripp hit a double to left field and Jordan Jackson followed with a Texas Leaguer for a hit and with runners on second and third and one out, it seemed that the dawgs would score. The threat ended and things looked bleak heading into the seventh inning with the score still 1-0 in favor of the visitors. Hannah Alexander launched the first pitch of the seventh inning over the left field fence for a dinger and the fans and team were energized with this opportunity to win the game. In the top of the eighth the red devils scored three runs to take the lead. Nicole Bondoc led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and would score on a groundout from Megan Berg but that would end the scoring for NBC. Final score 4-2.
NOTES-Jordan Jackson registered the first hit of the season for the yappers with a solid base hit up the middle in the third. JJ would add another hit in the fifth to go 2 for 3. Hannah has tweaked her swing to more of a power launching pad and this game into play in the 7th when she did some cold weather yard work. The dawgs had runners on in 6 of the 8 innings and had runners in scoring position in three innings but were not able to take advantage of these opportunities. Haylei Archer reeled off 15 strikeouts for the day. This will be an excellent game to get the pulse of this 2019 version of NBC softball. With a schedule chock full of top teams in the area, the hounds have little time to lament over the loss. The first game of the season is just that and the yappers are now a seasoned team with the resolve to move forward.

Date: April 1, 2019     Time: 4:00pm      Venue: NBC - Field 25