Lady Mustangs keep on battling

Brick Memorial’s softball team showed it has character after getting eliminated from postseason play early last week, by keeping enough in the tank to salvage some good victories this season.

The Mustangs’ bid for an NJSIAA tournament berth was dashed in a 3-2 loss in nine innings to Southern Regional, their second extra-inning loss this season. But they came back to beat Central, 6-1, and Toms River South, 1-0, behind Jessi DeFluri’s one-hit pitching, to improve to 4-11 with only a few days left on the season.

“We hit pretty well against an 11-4 Central team,” said coach Vin Dallicardillo, as Ashley Melone’s two-run double in the second inning set the tone.

“We’re starting to come around, although it’s a little late for that.”

Against Toms River South, DeFluri struck out eight and walked two despite pitching with a bone bruise on her throwing hand that she suffered when a pitched ball rode in on her hand while she was batting.

In the fifth inning, DeFluri walked and was replaced by pinch runner Alina Acosta, who stole second and scored on a two-out double by Heather Bormann. DeFluri has an ERA of 2.25, but Dallicardillo says “we just haven’t been hitting at all.”

Amanda Cashman and Bormann smacked run-scoring singles in the fourth inning before Southern Regional tied it in the seventh and then pulled it out.

— Wayne Witkowski