Historic season ends for Weehawken in semifinal loss to Cedar Grove

WEEHAWKEN – Even through the smoky haze, it was clear Cedar Grove was a little bit better.

The Panthers rode 14 strikeouts from Cayce Kavakich and a key inside-the-park homer from Gabriella Florre to down Weehawken, 3-1, Tuesday in the Group 1 softball semifinals.

For Weehawken, it was the end to a historic season that saw them win the league, county and sectional title in the same season for the first time.

“Throughout the season, we have made history, and it’s because of every girl on this team,” said Weehawken coach Raquel Roder. “It was a team effort and they literally have nothing to be upset about. They played excellent the whole season.”

What it means

The Panthers (26-3) got revenge on the Indians after losing to them in the 2022 sectional final. They advance to the Group 1 final against the winner of New Egypt and Clayton on Saturday.

Weehawken’s loss means the end of the North Jersey softball season. The Indians were the only team from the area to win a section and will be contenders again with just about every starter back, including standout junior pitcher Savanna McHale.

“Probably right now,” Roder said laughing when asked when she starts planning for next year. “I think we need to take a second and reflect on how far we have come. Realistically, we have 4-5 girls who have been playing for a long time. The rest of my girls have come up from JV or never played before. We have a really young team, so it’s a good thing for us.”

The turning point

Weehawken took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Envey Duran scoring Kat Thompson who was hit by a pitch and then moved to second on a wild pitch.

Cedar Grove answered with a sac fly by Daniella D’Angelo in the second and took the lead on a two-out inside-the-park home run by leadoff batter Gabriella Florre, who sliced a ball just down the left field line past a diving Bella Veras.

“You hear all these things, keep these girls off the bases,” said Roder. “I don’t blame the umpires, but it was a very tight strike zone, and if you let one hang [over the plate] and a ball gets put in play like that in a tough spot that rolls [away]. What are you going to do?”

Florre scored standing up and Kavakich did the rest, limiting Weehawken to two hits and striking out the side in the seventh. Ava Oeckel added an RBI single for Cedar Grove in the fifth.

As the game wore on clouds and smoke from the Canadian wildfires gave the field a distinct haze and made it difficult to see the New York City skyline.

The Last Word

“They have nothing to hang their heads about,” said Roder. “Everyone was telling us it would be a blowout and the fact that we scored early and held them off and gave them a game, we did a really good job. Now we prepare for next year. We want to get to this spot again.”

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Historic season ends for Weehawken in semifinal loss to Cedar Grove