Rookies give No. 8 Mount St. Dominic defining win over No. 6 Donovan Catholic

Rookies give No. 8 Mount St. Dominic defining win over

No. 6 Donovan Catholic

By Jake Aferiat | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

(40 PHOTOS)
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Updated: Apr. 14, 2024, 7:40 p.m.|
Published: Apr. 14, 2024, 7:01 p.m.

Softball: Mount St. Dominic vs Donovan Catholic, April 14, 2024.

In a sport where failure is such an integral part of its fabric as it is in baseball or softball to the point where it’s nearly the status quo, even the possibility of acts or moments in defiance of that seem to be that much more heightened.

And when the failure has been one that stretches back over a decade — longer than
anyone associated with it can remember — moments in defiance of that are enough to
rewrite history and etch its participants into lore forever.
And on Sunday, after a half hour rain delay and a few early mental mistakes by the
state’s No. 8 ranked team, eventually, Mount St. Dominic pitcher Ava Kelshaw and left
fielder Fran Cutillo settled in and made sure the Lions gave everyone in Caldwell and
beyond an exact answer to the trivia question of: “When was the last time Mount St.
Dominic beat Donovan Catholic?”
Rather than the amorphous, unknown answer coming into the game — Kelshaw, Cutillo
and the rest of the Lion team made sure their names, this date and this iteration of
Mount St. Dominic softball will be remembered in the history books following a 5-1 win
over No. 6 ranked Donovan Catholic at the Anthony LaRezza Invitational at Immaculate
Heart.
“This is a great win. It’s a program defining win,” Mount coach Rob Stern said. “This is
for all the kids that have played for us but have lost [to Donovan] that’ll text us and
they’ll be excited. But that’s a great program with great players and [Donovan coach]
Debbie [Schwartz] is a great coach.”
As it turns out, even though they’re only freshmen, if the early returns are any indication
then Stern too may have greatness on his hands.
Kelshaw, who gave up a leadoff single to Donovan’s Bella Maria and a first inning run,
allowed just four baserunners over the next six innings and struck out 10 more for 13
total in the game. After Sophia Senger was cut down at the plate in the second inning,
just one other Donovan Catholic player reached scoring position the rest of the way.
“All my pitches have been doing well and I can definitely trust everyone on defense
behind me,” Kelshaw said. “I’m very confident and that with everybody doing so well
and all of the energy, that we were going to be good.”
In five games and 33 innings this season, Kelshaw has a 1.06 ERA and 53 strikeouts,
including 31 in three games against Top 20 teams.
“I can’t be more proud of Ava as a freshman standing out there,” Stern said. “She knows
the landscape and who Donovan Catholic is and to get 13 strikeouts and sit down kids
that are good players in big spots, especially when you’re first getting started — she’s a
top kid.”
The Lions eventually spotted Kelshaw some support in the top of the second when Naya
Martinez had an RBI single, helping to shift the momentum Mount’s way.

Then came the fourth inning and the exploits of the eight-hole hitter Cutillo.
With the bases loaded and no outs, Cutillo sent a bases-clearing triple all the way to the
right field wall and broke the game open 4-1, chasing Donovan Catholic start Dani
Rodriguez from the game and putting things out of reach.
“She was pitching well and pitched me inside first and I’m not a big person on inside
pitches, but then she threw men one down the middle and I knew I had to swing at it,”
Cutillo said. “I felt it on the bat that It was good and then I just started running.”
It was a sign of what’s possible and what could be to come for Stern’s group.
“We’ve got five freshmen starting and sometimes I’ve got to remember that they’re five
freshmen,” Stern said. “And the way the game started, we had two freshmen-type plays.
But then we had a great freshman play by Franny.”
Cutillo, who was hitless in her previous three games and came into Sunday hitting just
.182 on the season, didn’t mind having the pressure on her with a chance to reverse her
recent fortunes.
“I was definitely nervous but we’re a good team and they’re a good team, but I just knew
this was the position I had to be in, and I just had to take it.” Cutillo said. “I love having
the pressure on me and I work better under pressure. It just makes it way more
exciting.”
Working well under pressure — talk about an understatement.
Cutillo, who Stern praised for her ability to make contact, said the adjustment from club
and town travel to high school has been noticeable but that the level of play is different.
But neither she, nor Kelshaw, nor any of the freshman made that apparent or
demonstrated a big learning curve.
And that’s by design.
“If you want to play at this level — high level, non-public softball — the kids are
experienced when they walk through the door,” Stern said.
The season is still young and there are plenty of games left, including a potential
rematch between these two in a Non-Public A state final.
But Mount plays a gauntlet of a schedule and the games don’t get any easier. But with
encouraging performances like Sunday’s in the books, it seems as though Stern and his
team are far from their apex this season.

And as he had to remind himself, he’s starting five freshmen. But it’s clear, they may just
not be any freshmen.
“We have proven what we can do and we’re always working to get better and showing
what we’ve got,” Kelshaw said. “It’s good to know that we can do it now and that we’re
going to be able to do it later.”
Jake Aferiat can be reached at jaferiat@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him at
@Jake_Aferiat.